Bonds are Never Truly Broken
by Affectionate
Summary: It wasnt how pale she was, it wasnt the bruises lining her body, it wasnt the inflamed cuts on her wrists and neck. It was her hair, the shocking long, light pink hair, his ex teammate, Sakura. ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

**Well, here's another one!! I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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The moon hung high overhead as the first signs of nightfall arrived. The gentle, cool night air blew his hood off as he walked alone. The sound of crickets chirping in the background went unheard as the young Uchiha used all of his senses to keep track of his team and anyone around him. His sharingan activated, he scanned the empty streets.

'This is the spot.' He thought to himself, coming to a stop in the middle of the village. 'He should be here…'

As if his thoughts were read, a young woman came stumbling out of an alleyway, bowing deeply before him. "E – excuse my tardiness, Uchiha-sama… my m – master has been awaiting your arrival." She said quietly, her long, midnight black hair billowing around her face and shoulders.

He frowned as her long tresses revealed her torso. She was bruised, and red spots adorned her neck. Her clothes looked like they had been ripped off of her many times, and her feet were without shoes. 'She looks like she's been raped… what kind of man am I seeing?' He thought, disgusted.

Slowly, as not to scare her, he made his way towards the girl. She flinched when he stopped in front of her, not raising from her low bow. "I – I'm sorry you had been waiting… Uchiha-sama." She stammered, as if silently pleading her apology was interpreted correctly.

"What's your name?" He asked quietly.

"I – I – it's Tsuyu…" She replied, trembling.

"I won't hurt you." He said quietly. "What happened to you?"

"I – I… M – my master – he… uses us as his toys! Many have been killed, if he finds out I'm talking to you like this, I'll be next… p – please, don't say anything to him…" She

pleaded, falling to her hands and knees, placing her head to the ground, bowing deeper.

Sasuke knelt down before the girl, placing his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, terror in her eyes. "You're not going back to him." He said, helping the girl to stand. She stumbled into him.

"I – I have to! If I don't return, he'll come looking for me…" She said.

"Your ankle is broken." Sasuke stated. He looked behind him. "Suigetsu."

A young man, with white-blue hair appeared in front of Sasuke. "What?" He asked, looking at the trembling girl, curiously, then back to Sasuke.

"There's a change in plans. I'm going to kill him after I get the information I need."

"What about her?" Suigetsu asked.

Sasuke didn't answer, instead he turned to the girl he was supporting. "How many are there?"

"T – there's ten of us. The most recent that had been brought was a week ago. She's a – a… ninja, I think. They had her wrists and neck bound with a weird wire… it made her weak." She answered quietly.

"How many are injured?" Suigetsu asked.

"Only me… and the new girl. She broke free of the wire, so they put her in a different room than us. I only saw her once after they brought her into that room; that was when my master went in there and I saw a glimpse of her…" The girl paused, tears in her eyes. "S – she… I don't know what it was – she was still bound with the wire – but she had a mask on her face, drugging her. I think he took advantage of her while she was unconscious! He – he…"

"It's ok…" Sasuke said. "We'll get all of you out. Where is the room?"

"A – all of us are kept in one room when we aren't being used. It's easy to find; last door in the left hallway. Her room is at the end of the hall from the Lords' office… that's probably where he'll be waiting for you. The hallway is on the right side…"

"Sasuke… I'm not missing part in this." Suigetsu stated, his fists clenching.

Sasuke nodded. "Alright. Get Karin and Juugo, then come back here." Suigetsu didn't wait for him to finish and left. Minutes later, Karin appeared next to Suigetsu, looking at Sasuke with a frown on her face. Juugo appeared behind them.

"What's the new plan, Sasuke?" Karin asked.

"We kill him."

Juugo nodded. "What of the girl?"

"Karin, take her back to camp." She was about to protest, but he interrupted her. "She and another are the only ones injured. I need you to prepare a spot for the other one; she's apparently worse." He looked at the girl sitting on the ground; she nodded.

"Yes, alright. Fine." Karin stated moodily. She looked over at the girl sitting on the ground, shaking. "Come on, get on my back." She said, bending down so the girl could climb on. With that done, she ran out of the village, atop the buildings.

"Suigetsu, you work on getting all of the others out of there. Juugo, kill his men if there are any and then help Suigetsu." Both men nodded and disappeared into the night. Sasuke looked at the alleyway the girl came from, seeing one door. Assuming this is where to go, he went in.

s-S-s

Sasuke walked down the halls slowly, looking in all directions. He could already sense Juugo taking out men, silently, and Suigetsu waiting for the right moment to lead all of the girls out. But, Sasuke's job, as he decided, was to get the information of his brother he needed, kill the Lord, and get the other girl out of the room. Eventually, he found the main hallway; seeing one door near the back. He walked slowly, glancing at the door the girl was in and frowned. Once at the end, he entered the last door.

"Ah, Sasuke, I assume the girl I sent to you is dead. You're late. I hope you killed her for her tardiness; I would have killed her if you hadn't anyways." The man sitting in the middle of the room was large. His double chin jiggled with every word spoken, and his fat fingers held onto a teacup. Two young girls, no older than Sasuke himself, sat beside him, fanning him and giving him grapes. They too, wore clothes that were ripped and dirty.

Sasuke looked at the man, disgusted. In one swift movement, he had the Lord pinned to the wall with his katana at the man's throat. Sasuke glared at the man and pushed the katana through the flesh on his neck, drawing blood. He whimpered in pain.

"Get out of here. There is someone escorting the others out. Don't worry about the girl in the room, I'll get her out." He said to the two on the floor. They were shaking, but nodded their thanks and fled. "Tell me," Sasuke started, looking at the man he had pinned, "where is Uchiha Itachi?"

"I don't know where he is exactly; b – but I heard that he was last spotted in the rock village." The Lord muttered quickly, sweating.

"What else do you know about him?"

"H – he travels with a man named Kisame Hoshigaki. He belongs to a group of missing nin and S-class criminals called the Akatsuki. They're gathering the jinchuriki and tailed beasts."

"What do they want with them?"

"I – I don't know! Please, don't kill me!"

"Too late for that. You make me sick, using these girls like this. But, I have one more question." Sasuke stated, "What is the drug you're giving the girl?" The lord only stared at his captor and smirked, teasing him and accepting death. Sasuke scoffed and sliced the mans' throat. He cleaned off his katana before sheathing it, and ran out of the room, to the end of the hall. He stopped at the closed door and placed his ear to it. All he could hear was the 'whoosh' as the drug was being emitted and quick, ragged breathing. No one else was in the room, so he went in.

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks at the girl sprawled on the floor. She was unconscious and lay on her stomach. The wire wrapped around her neck was connected to the wire at her wrists. Her head lay on it's side so Sasuke could see a mask strapped to her face, a tube connected to it, giving her a yellow looking gas to breathe. She was in a cold sweat and looked to be having trouble breathing, it was almost as if she was hyperventilating, taking in fast, small gasps raggedly. The wire around her neck did nothing to help.

Her appearance and the state she was in wasn't what had him frozen. It wasn't that she was wearing peasants' clothes; a small white sundress, rather than her ninja attire. It wasn't the sickly pale colour of her face, and it wasn't the bruises on her bare arms and legs or the inflamed cuts on her wrists and neck from the wire digging into her skin; it was her hair. The shocking light pink, long hair had him frozen to the spot; his ex-teammate, Haruno Sakura.

He hadn't seen her in over three years and here she was, malnourished and close to death in front of him. Once his mind registered that she was there, that she desperately needed his help, he moved; all memory of breaking his bonds with her gone. None of that mattered anymore; not at this moment. All thoughts of revenge momentarily disappeared as he kneeled next to her and turned her onto her back. The wires suppressing her chakra had her hands strapped to her neck, stopping her from struggling.

Anger automatically flowed through Sasuke's body. Quickly, he removed the gas mask from her mouth, allowing her to have oxygen for the first time in days. Sakura immediately started coughing, almost as if she was suffocating. Reaching for a kunai, he forced his chakra into it, and waited for her to stop coughing so he didn't cut her. When she did, his chakra blade cut through the wire and released her. Her arms fell limply to the floor.

A feeling of nauseousness and dizziness began to wash over him and Sasuke realised that the gas was still mixing in with the oxygen in the room, causing him and Sakura to breathe it in. Staying for a little longer, he looked at the tank full of the drug and tried to figure out what it was. It had no label. Cursing, he lifted Sakura off of the floor, and ran out of the room, out into the streets. The cool, sweet, night air filled his lungs; the nauseous feeling slowly leaving.

He looked down at Sakura. She was still having trouble breathing; air entering her lungs in ragged breaths. He set her on the pavement of the alley and took out his water canteen. Lifting her from the ground, he put it to her lips and let the water go down her throat. She started to cough weakly after a minute and winced in unconsciousness.

'How did she end up there?' He asked himself, lifting her up off of the ground again, and headed out of the village, towards his teams' camp. 'Where were Kakashi and Naruto?'

s-S-s

Sasuke landed with a soft thud in the clearing; his team waiting for him. The girl Karin helped was sleeping by the fire. "Finally Sasuke. What took you?" Suigetsu asked, looking over at Sasuke.

"Is that her?" Karin asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah… I don't know what the drug was though… she's still having trouble breathing."

"She'll be fine. Just put her in the bed and leave her." Karin said glumly; she didn't like Sasuke holding another girl like that. Sasuke sent her angrily and walked by her, into his own tent, past the bedroll Karin had set up. Karin watched him go into his tent; her eyes wide and mouth open in disbelief.

"What the hell, Sasuke?" She yelled, storming towards his tent. "You made me go out of my way to make her a bed, and you ignore it and put her in your _own_ bed? Do you know her or something?!" She threw back the flap and stepped in.

"Karin, shut-up. Leave if it bothers you so much." Sasuke answered, taking one of Sakura's hands in his and began to clean her wrist.

"Do you know her, Sasuke?" Karin repeated, her voice level.

Sasuke sighed and turned to glare at Karin, sharingan activated. "Yes I do, now get out if you're going to be useless."

Karin's eyes narrowed. "Alright, what do you need me to do?"

"Go in my bag and get some clothes out. You'll change her when I'm done."

Karin nodded sourly and glared at Sakura. "Alright." She walked over to Sasuke's bag and began to look through it, attempting to find clothes. As she did, she couldn't help but ask questions. "What's her name?"

"Haruno Sakura."

"Where do you know her from?"

Sasuke didn't answer, just continued on to her other wrist. Karin watched him as he focussed on the task at hand. She had never seen him this intent on something other than finding Itachi. "Why are you so focussed on _her_, Sasuke? What about Itachi? Did you even get the information you needed? Or were you too intent on saving her?" Karin tried again.

Sasuke paused in dressing the wound to glance up at Karin. "She was my teammate when I was still in Konoha. I haven't seen her in three years." Sasuke looked back at Sakura's wrist and wrapped the bandage tightly, tying the ends. He then moved to her neck. "Itachi was supposedly last seen in the Rock country."

"What's he doing there? Did he say?"

"No he didn't really specify. He just told me that the group he's with, Akatsuki, is gathering the jinchuriki and tailed beasts. For what, he didn't say."

"So maybe he's tracking one of them…" Karin mumbled. "Well, I've got some clothes… is this what you meant?" She asked, holding up a t-shirt and shorts. Sasuke spared a glance and nodded. He was now wrapping the bandage loosely around her neck. Her breath hitched at the contact and Sasuke stopped, staring at her intently, seeing of she was waking up. She didn't; instead, she started coughing again. When she stopped, her breathing was turning back to normal, no longer coming in gasps.

Sighing, Sasuke finished and left his tent, leaving Karin to change her. Suigetsu and Juugo looked up at him when he sat by the fire. "You know her, Sasuke?" Juugo asked. Sasuke nodded mutely. "From where?"

"She was my teammate in Konoha… I haven't seen her in over three years…"

"That explains it! You were more interested in her than Itachi, it had me wondering." Suigetsu said, happy he discovered the truth. "Is she going to live?"

Sasuke nodded and didn't say anything.

"What's her name?" Juugo asked.

"Haruno Sakura." Sasuke stated simply, his eyes distant. He was unsure of what to do. Should he take her to the nearest hospital, so she wouldn't see him? Should he wait out her recovery and help her back to Konoha? 'She'll probably beg me to return again…' He thought numbly, remembering what she had said to him that night. During his train of thought, Karin sat next to him; a little too closely in his opinion. "Karin, back off." He growled.

Karin did as told and slid away from him. "Just to let you know, her whole body is bruised." She told him dryly. "What are we going to do with those two?" She asked. Sasuke looked at the girl sleeping in front of the fire, her broken ankle wrapped tightly and his thoughts moving to his tent, the girl unconscious in his bed. He shook his head.

"She," He said gesturing to the girl by the fire, "can do whatever she wants."

"What of Sakura?" Juugo asked.

Sasuke stayed silent, staring back into the flames, back to thinking. "I don't know."

"We should just leave her here and when she wakes up she can go back home." Karin suggested hopefully.

"She won't be able to fend for herself until a couple of days, Karin." Suigetsu stated, angry at the girl's selfishness. "And _what_ was she breathing in for a week?"

Juugo nodded in agreement while Sasuke glared daggers at Karin. "She's staying with us until she wants to leave." He said and left to his tent, and added, "Karin, you take watch tonight."

Karin huffed and turned back to the fire, glaring. "Stupid pink-haired bitch. She just had to come along, didn't she?" She mumbled dangerously.

"Relax, Karin. You're just jealous that Sakura has Sasuke's attention and you don't. It's not like you ever will, anyways." Suigetsu sneered.

Karin was outraged. "Shut the fuck up, Suigetsu! No one asked you!"

"I agree with Suigetsu." Juugo said, and tilted his head back, staring at the stars. Karin scoffed and continued to vent her anger by glaring at the never-ending flames of the fire. "We should have left the lot of them there." She mumbled again.

s-S-s

Sasuke sat next to Sakura in his tent, staring at her. 'She grew her hair out again…" He thought. Her forehead was of average size, and she no longer held the title as 'billboard brow.' Her bangs were much shorter than her hair, stopping at her jaw line.

Catching himself staring at her he looked away and cursed himself. 'I should have just dropped her off in a hospital somewhere… this is just going to cause trouble. Like last time…'

_Sasuke was in his room Orochimaru assigned him, resting after learning and mastering a new technique. He lay on his bed, facing the wall, and that's when he sensed it. A flicker of chakra; attempted to be masked. He recognised it as Naruto's. 'So he's still untalented as ever…' He thought before getting up. He stood there for a moment, debating. 'Should I go meet them… let them find me… or… get away so it doesn't cause trouble? Everyone else is basically gone except for the snake and Kabuto.'_

_Coming to his decision, he ran out of his room and fled; getting away from all of the problems it would cause if they had seen each other. Orochimaru and Kabuto seemed to be waiting on his decision, for not moments after he got out of the hideout; they were beside him, smirking as the hideout exploded._

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**Well, there is chapter 1!! I already have the next couple of chapters written, so if you want them sooner... you know what to do! REVIEW!**

**Ok, the chapters are going to be shorter than my other stories because I find it hard after a while to write such long chapters. They may get longer, but I can't keep any promises.**

**Oh, and chapter 3 of 'A New Begining' is comming. I was just having issues putting my ideas on paper... so, please, be patient, it is comming in the next week probably!!**

**Ja ne!**


	2. Chapter 2

Here you go! Chapter 2! And wow, just wow. **Thank you so much for all of the reviews, and favs and alerts.** I thought I'd be nice and post this! I have one more chapter already done, so you know the drill!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Last time:

_Sasuke was in his room Orochimaru assigned him, resting after learning and mastering a new technique. He lay on his bed, facing the wall, and that's when he sensed it. A flicker of chakra; attempted to be masked. He recognised it as Naruto's. 'So he's still untalented as ever…' He thought before getting up. He stood there for a moment, debating. 'Should I go meet them… let them find me… or… get away so it doesn't cause trouble? Everyone else is basically gone except for the snake and Kabuto.'_

_Coming to his decision, he ran out of his room and fled; getting away from all of the problems it would cause if they had seen each other. Orochimaru and Kabuto seemed to be waiting on his decision, for not moments after he got out of the hideout; they were beside him, smirking as the hideout exploded._

**Chapter 2**

Risking a look back at Sakura, he felt anger course through him again. 'Why do I feel so mad?!' He cursed himself. 'I haven't seen any of them for so long and I… here I am… getting angry like I used to when one of them was hurt…'

The image of her on the floor, helpless… bound… breathing that yellow gas…for a week… he couldn't take it – he found himself cursing that he wasn't there in the first place. Closing his eyes, he shook his head angrily.

He froze and opened his eyes again, feeling Sakura stir beside him. Hesitantly, he looked at her. She was trying to wake up; squinting her eyes. 'What am I going to say?' He thought, panicking slightly. 'Will she recognise me? Or did the drug do something to her?' He felt his anger arise at that thought.

All panic came full force when her eyes opened slowly. Sasuke expected her to look at him immediately, or at least look around, but she didn't. All she did was stare up, her eyes unfocussed, breathing in deeply through her mouth. She blinked slowly, but did nothing other than that. Hesitantly, Sasuke waved his hand over her eyes. She didn't seem to notice.

Sasuke waited patiently, the minutes dragging on like hours. And still, Sakura lay there, unmoving, blinking every so often. Panic taking a different reason; he placed his hand on her shoulder. She blinked and turned her head, looking at him, her eyes half closed. He didn't do anything, just kept his hand on her shoulder and stared back into her eyes.

The minutes continued to drag on as Sakura just stared, distant. Startling Sasuke, she closed her eyes tightly and opened them again, frowning. The first sign of emotion to come from her. She finally looked away from him, and looked around the tent. Her eyes widened slightly and her hand crept out of the blankets, trembling; she could barely hold it up. She brought her hand to her lips. "I – it's… gone…" she whispered hoarsely, her voice cracking. She smiled and started to cough, managing to turn to her side and bring her knees up higher, her arms falling limply to the bed. It was as if she was coughing out a lung.

'She doesn't even realise that I'm here…' Sasuke thought, watching her as tears flowed down her cheeks. She stopped coughing and took in deep breaths, each breath causing her pain. Sasuke decided that it was now or never and reached for his water canteen. Looking back at Sakura, she looked to be awake, but barely.

Lifting her up by the back of her neck, he held the bottle to her lips and she drank greedily, wincing with every swallow. After the bottle was drained, Sasuke lay her back down. Taking in a deep breath, she opened her eyes again, blinking away her tears she turned to him. Her brows furrowed slightly. Sasuke just stared at her like he did before.

Her eyes watered and she turned away. Her mouth opened and she spoke in a hoarse whisper, as if she just gained back her voice. "N – now what is h – he doing to m – me?" She asked herself, tears dripping down her cheeks when she closed her eyes again. "P – please… stop. W – what did I do?" She pleaded.

Sasuke's stomach performed summersaults again. 'She had more done to her?' He thought angrily. Forgetting that he hadn't seen her in years, he acted upon instinct and placed his warm hand on her cheek. She started to cry upon his touch. She tried to move, but Sasuke guessed she couldn't. She opened her eyes and looked at him again. "A – am I… dreaming?" She asked quietly; Sasuke had to strain his ears in order to hear her.

Despite himself, Sasuke answered her. "No… you're free." He said soothingly, removing his hand. "Sakura, you're not dreaming, trust me…"

Sakura stared at him in disbelief. "Y – you… you got me o – out of there, Sa – Sasuke-kun?" She asked, her voice still barely audible.

He nodded. Sakura then smiled and closed her eyes, blinking away a new wave of tears. Tears of happiness. "Sa – Sasuke-kun…" She said again, "why can't I m – move my body? I – it hurts… e – everywhere…"

Sasuke frowned, his eyes narrowing. "You can't move?" He asked, clarifying what she said.

She opened her eyes and nodded. "I – I can… but it's hard…"

Pulling the blankets off of her, Sasuke examined her body. There was no puncture marks or anything. He placed his hand on her arm and looked at her. "Can you feel that?" He asked. She nodded. He then moved to the rest of her body; her legs, sides, stomach, arms, neck. Everything she could feel. 'Maybe the drug is still in her body…' He thought.

Taking her hand in his, he looked at her. "Try to squeeze my hand." He ordered, looking at her hand as it twitched. She managed to bend her fingers a little, but that was it. "Do you still feel nauseous?"

Sakura nodded. "My head is s – spinning… and I – I feel sick."

"It was the drug you were breathing… it made me feel like that when I took it off of you… extended inhalation must have made you weak… not to mention chakra loss."

Sakura immediately started crying again, her shoulders shook as silent tears fell from her eyes. She coughed a little again and winced. "Do – do you have m – more water?" She whispered.

Sasuke nodded and got up, getting out of the tent. Sakura sniffed quietly and tried to remember how she got there. She couldn't… she couldn't even remember if she was with anyone at the time. She thought hard, concentrating on her memories.

She didn't notice Sasuke come back with water when her memories of the last week flashed before her eyes. Sasuke quickly knelt down beside her, activating his sharingan to see in her mind. (a.n: like he does with Naruto and the Kyuubi in the first Shippuuden episode. I'm sure it's not the same thing... but whatever.)

_Sakura kept her body flat against a building, watching another girl be taken back through the ally and through the door. She cursed. 'How am I supposed to get in there?!' She thought angrily. Staring through the dark ally and at the door within it, she formed a plan in her head. 'I could get caught and taken in there like all of the others… once in, I could free them and kill the leader and his men…' She smirked to herself, liking her plan._

_s-S-s_

_"No, please. Let me go!" Sakura pleaded as she was dragged into the very same alley all of the others were._

_Then, the men stopped, holding up Sakura by her arms. Sakura cursed, 'They didn't stop with all of the others…' Debating weather or not to just abandon her plan, her thought process was stopped in it's tracks. 'S – Sai?! Tsunade-sama said nothing about him being here… Alright, there's no other option.'_

_Coming to a conclusion, she stood up on her feet and threw the two men that had a hold on her arm into the wall with a punch. "Sai! What are you doing here?" She hissed._

_"My mission, hag." He said and one of his ink drawings lashed out at her, coming from the scroll Sai held in his hands. Sakura dodged and punched it, causing it to freeze and melt to the floor in a puddle of ink. Before she even had time to think, Sai was in front of her and wrapped wire around her._

_"S – Sai… what're you… doing?" She asked, her words slurring, feeling her chakra slip from her control. 'It's draining my chakra!' She thought._

_Sai approached her as she fell to her knees. "I told you; my mission." He said with no emotion in his voice or face._

_"Naruto… he's right about you… he always… was. You're nothing… nothing but a – a…" Falling face first to the ground, she couldn't move anymore, exhaustion taking control of her. She felt the wires stop draining her chakra and then she realised she was being lifted. The same two men that had her before took her through the door. 'N – no… I will not end up like them!' She thought._

_With one last, desperate move, she forced her remaining chakra to her arms and snapped the wires. The two men dropped her in surprise, and that's all Sakura needed to get up and run. She wasn't fast enough, her chakra was too drained; all Sai had to do was walk fast and he had caught up. Stopping in front of her, he threw her into the wall and that's all it took to stop her._

_'Damnit… I – I can't get up!' She thought, glaring at Sai. "S – Sai… why? Why are you betraying… the village… me?"_

_Sai didn't answer her; he took her by upper arm and dragged her into a room at the beginning of a long hallway. She saw what looked like an oxygen mask connected to some sort of tank. He dropped her by the tank and put the mask over her mouth and nose. 'Why is he giving me oxygen?' She thought. When he turned the machine on, it started to give her nothing; she couldn't breathe. Panicking, she attempted to tear it off, but Sai had her wrists in his hand at her sudden attempt. He took out more wire and wrapped it around her neck, with two ends left; he brought up her wrist and tied it there. He took her other one and did the same. Sakura attempted to struggle when he stood up and left the room._

_The movement of her arms caused the wire to tighten around her neck. She immediately stopped. Trying to breathe, she had no oxygen, so couldn't take in anything. Looking over at the machine, her eyes widened. Creeping up the tube was a pale yellow gas; it was anything but oxygen. Struggling once again, she felt the wires cut into her flesh. Wincing, she felt tears fill her eyes. 'I – is… is he trying to kill me?!' She thought watching in horror as the gas entered the mask._

_She gagged when it entered her lungs; the smell was horrible. Her coughing fit caused the wire to cut into her neck and writs deeper. Trying to hold her breath caused the gas held in to burn her throat and lungs. Her tears flowing freely down her face she began to feel sick; her stomach doing summersaults over and over again. The room began to spin and everything became unfocussed. She was vaguely aware that she couldn't breathe properly, her breathing coming in quick gasps; chest heaving._

_'N – no…' She thought, feeling her consciousness leaving. 'Ka – Kaka…shi… Na – Naruto…' Everything turned dark. She didn't know how long she was unconscious for, but she began to feel herself waking up._

_She could feel the mask that covered her mouth and nose gone. Her arms were severely cramped from them being up to her neck for so long. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she saw someone's feet. They were fat and so were his ankles and legs; as far as she could see. Straining her heavy eyes, she looked up at him and gasped silently. 'Th – that's the man I was supposed to kill…' She thought._

_"Sakura… what a pretty name." He said, bending down to her. "It's too bad I can't make you one of my girls. It's a pity Sai told me to do this to you… but he said he wanted to make sure you would crack for the next time you were awoken…" He didn't say anymore, instead, he forcefully kissed her once, smashing his mouth on hers. After he had his fill, he kicked her, repeatedly. He made sure to only bruise her, no internal injuries afflicted._

_Once Sakura's whole body went numb, he stopped. "Ah, I always feel so relieved after hurting someone… expecially ninja..." He mumbled, walking over to the machine and turning it on. He strapped it on her face, dropping her head to the side. He left her on her stomach, weak, in pain, and suffocating. Left Sakura to endure the moment of no oxygen and then the sickly smell and feeling of the gas in her lungs. Crying for the first time since the man had entered the room, she felt her stomach performing flips, her throat burning with every inhalation she had to take; for that was the only way to get the oxygen she needed, even if it was very little. Feeling her mind fade into darkness, she succumbed to it._(a.n: I know, it seems dramatic... but Sasuke has to get mad some way, doesn't he?)

Sakura's eyes came back in focus seeing Sasuke's sharingan swirling, his eyes wide and angry. She found herself bawling by now. Managing to turn to her side, she retched, but nothing came up. Coughing and crying as the memory of the gas entering her lungs played over and over again, and the large, overweight man kissing her.

Feeling a new wave of sickness wash over her, she got onto her hands and knees, and crawled to the opening of the tent as quick as she could. Once the prickling feeling of grass beneath her fingers was felt, Sakura threw up; the same putrid smell of the gas filling her nose again. Feeling dizzy, her stomach empty, she fell to her side panting heavily. Her eyes were closed tightly from her dizziness.

She heard, who she assumed was Sasuke, get out of the tent and kneel beside her. She felt him turn her to her back, his arm slip under her knees and around her back, then, she was lifted into his arms with ease. His hold on her was tight. "Sakura can you hear me?" He asked; his voice was muffled to Sakura's ears.

Sasuke couldn't believe what had happened to her. His replacement on team seven did this; caused her to breathe in that gas, tied her wrists to her neck so she couldn't struggle, left her to suffer in silence. Sent that lard to break her, to take advantage of her.

"I can…" Sakura mumbled.

Sasuke looked up at the rest of the team who was watching Sakura with wide eyes. Even Karin was shocked at the state she was in. Sakura began to tremble in his arms, causing Karin to come over and feel her forehead.

"Her body is fighting the gas… she will be ok… I think… but we need to get this fever down…" She mumbled and looked up at Sasuke. "Go put her by the fire, she needs to stay warm. Juugo, get her a blanket. Suigetsu, go to the stream and fill all of our canteens. She needs a lot of fluids."

Everyone did as told. Sasuke stood by the fire and waited for Juugo to emerge from his tent with his bedroll. Once he did, he set it close to the fire and pulled the blankets back so Sasuke could lay her down. Once she had the covers over her, Sasuke sat down next to her. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"S – S – Sai…" She stammered, her voice barely a whisper.

"I know…"

"He… he was o – o – on our team… He – he…" She couldn't speak because of her violent trembling.

"I saw everything, Sakura." Sasuke stated.

Sakura closed her eyes and opened her mouth again. "M – my whole ch – chest hurts… m – my throat… my lun – gs…" She mumbled shakily, turning her head to its side.

Sasuke looked to see Suigetsu returning with his arms full of water. He set them down away from the fire so they could stay cool, and brought one over to Sasuke. He then went and sat down by the fire, watching Sasuke intently.

"Here… drink this." Sasuke said, lifting Sakura up a little and holding the bottle to her lips. She did as told and drank the whole thing, coughing a little, again, when she was done. She sighed deeply and opened her eyes half way.

"Wh – why are y – you helping me? I – I thought you h – hated me… hated u – us." She asked quietly, tears gathering in her eyes.

Suigetsu snickered at her question because he knew the Uchiha didn't have the answer. Sasuke looked away from her, at Karin who was coming with a couple of rags in her hands. "Sasuke…" Sakura mumbled again, waiting for his answer.

Instead of answering, he got up and left the campsite. Disappearing into the forest. Sakura felt tears come to her eyes when he left, and she closed them tightly. She heard someone sit beside her and started to panic. She opened her eyes and stared at the red haired girt above her with terror in her eyes, her body becoming tense.

Karin sighed exasperatedly. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm trying to break your fever."

Sakura's stiff body relaxed and she closed her eyes. "Who a – are you?"

"Karin."

Sakura nodded and shuddered when a cool cloth was placed on her forehead. She opened her eyes to see nothing but white.

"You need to sleep." She heard Karin say and then walk away. Still feeling cold, she doubted she could fall asleep; she wasn't even tired. So she lay there, trembling, and listened for any sign that Sasuke had come back.

'Why didn't he answer my question?' She thought sadly. 'Nothing's changed… I bet in the morning I'm going to be left alone and he's gone…' Feeling tears come to her eyes; she felt the cloth that was over her eyes absorb them, and some fall from her face, onto her shoulders. 'What if Sai comes back for me… I can't fight him off in this condition!' She began to breathe faster, panic sweeping over her. 'I don't want to breathe that stuff again…'

She heard someone kneel beside her and she nearly screamed. "N – no… g – get away…" She said weakly, trying to lift herself from the ground.

"Karin, why the hell would you cover her eyes?!" Someone said loudly, causing Sakura to wince. She immediately relaxed, realising that it wasn't Sai. She felt the cloth being lifted from her eyes and she opened them, focussing on another man. "You ok? You need some water? You were breathing quickly." He said to her.

Sakura blinked away her tears and nodded. "If y – you have any… please…" She said quietly, her voice cracking. He nodded and got up towards the tents, getting another water canteen. He came back and lifted her up, allowing her to drink.

"By the way, the name's Suigetsu. The other guy is Juugo. You'll probably see him later." Suigetsu said to her as she drank the water greedily. No matter how much she drank, she was still thirsty. Once finished, he threw the bottle behind him, towards the others, and lay her back down.

"Th – thank you…" She said, smiling slightly.

"Do you mind telling me why you were so scared?" Suigetsu asked, sitting beside her, deciding he should keep her company until she fell asleep, or at least until Sasuke came back.

Sakura looked away, hiding her tears. "I… I was on a solo m – mission… I was supposed to get all of those girls out o – out of there and kill the leader… S – Sai… he… he…" She couldn't finish, she didn't want to relive all of that. She blinked away her tears.

Suigetsu stared at her, frowning. 'That must be why Sasuke was looking at her in shock… he saw into her memories.' He thought. "You don't need to say anymore… we wont let – what was his name? Sai? – get near you. Get some sleep." He told her and walked back to the fire to put more wood on it.

Sakura could feel the heat increase and it felt good. The cool cloth on her forehead felt good too, stopping her cold sweat. She was on the brink of falling asleep when she was vaguely aware of a soft thud landing beside her. Her breath hitched and she woke herself up, shaking in fear and opening her eyes, praying that it wasn't Sai.

* * *

Sorry about the cliffy... personally, I absolutely hate cliffys, but I had written like, 28 pages of this, and right now, I'm just cutting it into parts. So, this was the only spot where it seems logical to stop at. Oh, sorry for Sasuke-kun's OOCness... 

Once again, I am sorry; and I will try not to do cliffy's in the next ones.

REVIEW!! And I will post the next chapter up tomorrow!! I want at least 10 reviews for being nice! Thank you again!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Last Time:

Sakura could feel the heat increase and it felt good. The cool cloth on her forehead felt good too, stopping her cold sweat. She was on the brink of falling asleep when she was vaguely aware of a soft thud landing beside her. Her breath hitched and she woke herself up, shaking in fear and opening her eyes, praying that it wasn't Sai.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

She took in a deep breath when she saw Sasuke's white shirt. "Stop panicking." He told her quietly. He then sat down next to her and changed the cloth on her forehead, the coldness soothing her headache. She moaned gratefully with her eyes closed, she smiled slightly.

"You… never answered my question…" She mumbled tiredly.

Sasuke looked at her, ready to answer her question because he thought about it long and hard. He didn't care, he didn't want to care, but seeing her like that again, all helpless and basically suffocating, he couldn't help but become his old self, before he ever ran into Orochimaru in the Chuunin Exams. He wanted to help her regain her health.

"Sakura… I…" He started, "I never hated you. I wanted to… but finding you proved I couldn't. My replacement on team seven did this to you… because I left. And after thinking about it... I regret it… I never meant to hurt Naruto like I did… it just got out of control… I just wanted a quick way to gain power at the time. It was almost as if the cursed seal took over me." He spoke quietly, so the others wouldn't hear.

Sakura felt tears come to her eyes at his words. "Sasuke-kun… thank you… so much… for getting me out of there. I don't think I can ever thank you enough…"

Sasuke shook his head. "Don't worry about it… just get some sleep, I won't leave, so don't be afraid. We need to leave in the morning."

Sakura nodded slowly, tuning her head to the side, facing Sasuke. "Sai… he uses drawings to attack… and mice to… scout areas… they'd be all black… like a drawing… sometimes it's snakes…"

"Alright." 'She sounds a lot better… her voice isn't as hoarse.' He thought, watching Sakura fall asleep.

Suigetsu looked at Sasuke. "What exactly did he do to her? I got a little bit out of her… but it wasn't much. It wasn't much at all."

Karin and Juugo looked at Sasuke curiously as well, awaiting his answer. Sasuke closed his eyes. He opened them to reveal his sharingan and cast the three of them into a genjutsu, showing them exactly what Sakura went through, first hand. All thoughts from Sakura heard. He watched as Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo fell to the ground. A minute passed and they all sat up, shock on their faces. They all turned to Sasuke. "That's it…" He said, answering their questions, "Today is a week later."

"I'll kill him." Juugo muttered. "I'll kill him. He's next… Sai…"

Sasuke decided to leave Juugo be; if he got too out of hand, he'd stop him. Sai deserved to have Juugo let loose on him.

'That doesn't mean she needs Sasuke's attention all the time…' Karin thought angrily. 'Sure, she's been through hell, but she needs to get over it, move on and leave Sasuke and me alone.'

Suigetsu said nothing, just turned back to the fire. 'I don't even know the girl and I already want to avenge her.' Hew thought. 'This is probably how Sasuke feels… but he used to be on her team; he left and his replacement put her though that.'

s-S-s

Sasuke kept his sharingan activated through the night, taking watch from Karin. He doubted Sai was done with Sakura yet, and he'd be damned if he let Sai get near her. He didn't see any animals roaming around in the trees that looked like what Sakura described.

It was nearing sunrise as the black sky began to turn to dark blues and purples. Sakura had slept soundly the whole night, not stirring or waking up at all. Her fever was still burning, but not nearly as bad as it was, signalling that her body was not yet done fighting the drug.

His eyes wondered over to Sakura when she moved for the first time. 'She can move again…' He thought. She groaned softly, her hand wondering to her neck. She began to pull at the bandages and Sasuke grabbed her arm. "Leave it be." He said.

Sakura opened her eyes and looked at him, focussing on his face. "Sasuke-kun…" She mumbled tiredly, looking around. "What time is it?" As she spoke she winced. Her hand grasped her neck and she felt the bandages. "What's this for?" She asked.

"The sun's just rising… and your neck was cut from the wire… same with your wrists." Sasuke answered her, releasing her arm.

"Ow…" She mumbled. Shakily, she sat up, holding her head for a brief moment to wait out the dizziness, and looked at her wrists. She began to untie the bandages. Sasuke's hand caught hers again.

"Leave it be." He said again. Sakura shook her head, "No… I was on a solo mission for a reason Sasuke-kun… just… watch…" She said quietly. Sasuke looked at her confused, but released her arm regardless.

He helped her to untie the bandages from her wrists and she winced slightly. They were inflamed and swollen. "Who cleaned them?" She asked and looked at Sasuke. "Did you…" He nodded, throwing the bandages into the fire. She smiled, "Thank you… you saved me a couple of minutes…"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura looked at him sadly, and then back to her wrists. "You didn't think I did nothing for three years…" With that said, she placed her hand over her injured wrist and concentrated. A green glow formed and she frowned when it flickered, the glow becoming smaller and then back to normal.

"You learned medical ninjutsu?" He asked, slightly amazed.

Sakura smiled and nodded, and began to work on her other wrist. "I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice…" She said quietly, deactivating her jutsu and looked at Sasuke. "She trained me for three years after you left."

Sasuke looked away and nodded. "You can fight like her?" He asked quietly, remembering what Orochimaru had said about his old teammates fighting styles. She smiled and nodded, bringing her hands to her neck and untying the bandage. Using both hands this time, she healed her wound within minutes. She looked at her arms and touched her bruises gently, deciding that they weren't too bad, she left them be.

"Sasuke… I can't wear your clothes…" She said quietly, beginning to stand up. Sasuke stood up with her, holding onto her arm, steadying her. Her head spun painfully, pounding. "I left my bag in the village… I have clothes in there…"

Juugo looked over to them. "I'll get it." He said. "Near which building?"

"It's by the ramen shop," She grinned. "Behind the dumpster at the back."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk as well. 'Naruto…' He thought. Sakura looked up at him and blushed. "Do you have… anything to eat?" She asked quietly. Sasuke nodded and helped her over to the fire, next to Karin and the other girl. He then went over to his tent and brought out some fruit.

He handed her an apple. "Suigetsu is getting some fish right now." He told her quietly and jumped into a tree, going to the top and looking out towards the village; his hair swirling around in the wind. Sakura watched him sadly, finishing her apple, and then turned to the girl beside her, noticing her swollen and bandaged ankle.

"Your ankle…" She stated quietly.

"Seuchi broke it…" She mumbled.

"Seuchi?"

"The Lord of that village. The fat one."

Sakura shuddered. "Here," She said, getting down on one knee, "I'll heal it for you."

The girl looked at her, curiously. "So you _were_ a ninja…"

Sakura nodded and began to unwrap her bandage. Karin scoffed. "More wasted time," She muttered.

Sakura grimaced. 'She's not very friendly…' She thought.

"I'm Sakura, by the way," Sakura started, placing her hand over her ankle, her hand sporting the green glow again. "You?"

"Tsuyu…" She said, watching Sakura heal her ankle. "That feels so much better…"

Sakura smiled and lifted her hands from the girls' ankle. Rewrapping the bandage around her ankle. "Try not to put too much pressure on it."

"Sakura." Sakura turned quickly and instantly regretted it. Her head pounded and she felt dizzy all over again. Bringing her hand to her head, she groaned softly, laying her head on the log.

"Sakura-san?" Tsuyu asked quietly.

Sakura didn't answer, just waited out the pounding. "I'm… ok." She mumbled after a minute. She lifted her head back up from the log and grimaced. She turned slowly this time, only to see Juugo and Karin. Juugo held her bag in his hand, watching her worriedly. Suigetsu wandered back to camp at that moment, looking at the scene in front of him.

"Did I miss something?" He asked, dropping the fish by the fire.

"Oh… thank you Juugo…" She said, seeing that Juugo held her bag and attempted to stand. Sasuke was instantly by her side, swooping her up in his arms. "Sa – Sasuke-kun?!" She exclaimed.

"I saw Sai's rats, we have to go. Now. Juugo, grab the necessities; food, water canteens. Karin, grab the bedrolls. Suigetsu, get the girl." Sasuke ordered.

Sakura shook. Her eyes wide with fear as Sasuke began to jump into the trees. Sakura's hand gripped Sasuke's shirt tightly, her other at her chest. She was breathing fast, panicking. Sasuke looked down at her, frowning. "Sakura… just relax. I don't sense him, I can't see him." He said quietly. Sakura saw his sharingan activated, the three commas standing out against the red of his irises.

His eyes seemed to calm her almost, her breathing slowed, but her hand still kept a firm grasp on his shirt, her other joining it. "Sasuke-kun… he's ANBU…" She whispered. "He's a part of the root… He's masking his chakra… he can do it as well as Kakashi-sensei… Sasuke-kun, I know he's following us!"

She saw Sasuke frown and stop on a thick tree branch; Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo stopping beside him. "What is it?" Suigetsu asked, Tsuyu afraid on his back, her face hidden in his shoulder.

"Sakura thinks he's following… he's stronger than I thought… Karin," Sasuke said, "try to sense him."

Karin nodded and closed her eyes. Minutes past and Sakura began to panic. 'He's watching…' She thought; a feeling of being watched activated her senses. She looked over at Karin, her eyes beginning to grow fuzzy again; the nauseous feeling returning. That's when she smelled it; the same sickening smell of the gas. Her breathing began to quicken.

Sakura tugged on Sasuke's shirt. Looking up at him weakly. "What? What is it?" He asked quietly.

"The… the gas…" She mumbled, Sasuke's face quickly becoming swallowed by blackness; her eyes beginning to close. "He's… using… it…"

"What?!" Sasuke hissed. "Move out!" He called to the others. "Damnit! Sakura, stay awake…"

Sakura felt as if she was floating; the wind rustling her hair, tickling her face. She couldn't even feel Sasuke's feet touch the trees and push off again. She could feel the after effects of the drug again, her lungs burning slightly with each breath. Her breathing returned to normal to Sasuke's relief. But she had stayed awake, like Sasuke requested.

"Sasuke, I can sense him." Karin suddenly said, coming up beside him. She looked at Sakura darkly. "What's wrong with her?"

"The gas, didn't you smell it?"

"That stench? That's what that was? Sakura must have a faster reaction to it, then. Weakling."

"Ah. She's the one who noticed it." Sasuke replied, looking down at Sakura for a brief moment, ignoring Karin's last comment. "Is he following?"

Karin nodded. "Yes. He's not very close though, a couple minutes behind."

Sasuke thought for a moment. He wanted to kill Sai, but what would he do with Sakura? Suigetsu was carrying the other girl already. Karin would be damned before she carried Sakura; it was obvious of her hate for the girl. And Juugo… Sasuke glanced behind him. Juugo looked to be in a crazed mood, mumbling to himself. 'He's in no way capable either…' He thought. 'We could ambush him, but what about Sakura?' Coming to a decision, he jumped to the ground, the others automatically following.

"Get ready." He told them. "This ends now."

"Wh – what are you doing?" Sakura asked weakly. "Why'd we… stop?"

"Just rest, Sakura." Sasuke told her, laying her next to a thick tree. Suigetsu came up behind him and dropped Tsuyu next to her; she looked terrified.

"What're we doing, Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked.

"I'm going to kill him." Sasuke answered, and then smirked. "If Juugo doesn't get to him first."

Juugo was shaking, the cursed seal marks slithering over his body, and muttering to himself. "He's pretty pumped." Suigetsu muttered, seating himself to the ground. "I'm beat; running with someone on your back…"

"Get ready. Karin, how close is he?"

"He's here." She muttered, walking over to Sasuke, looking from where they had just come. There stood Sai, on the tip of the tree, arms folded across his bare stomach. His face showed no emotion, his eyes stayed on Sakura.

'N – no… he's here!' She thought; she felt like she was going to throw up again. She forced her eyes open to see Sai there, looking right at her. She immediately started trembling.

"Sakura-san? Are you ok?" Tsuyu asked. Sasuke turned to look at them and frowned. He stepped in front of Sakura, blocking Sai from view. "Uchiha-sama? What's wrong with her? Who is that?"

"It's Sai, now shut up." Karin snapped.

"Sai-kun? Is that who we're running from? He's nothing to worry about; he helped all of us! He saved my life!" Tsuyu stated, confused.

"Just look at Sakura." Suigetsu growled. "He did that to her."

"He did not! It was Seuchi! Seuchi made him do it." She yelled. Standing up and running over to Sai, who had now just jumped from the tree, to the ground. "I know you guys were nothing but bad news!" She screamed back at them.

"Stupid girl." Sasuke muttered. "Juugo, go."

Juugo said nothing, just charged at Sai. Sai stood there, unmoving, Tsuyu behind him. "What's he doing? It he stupid?!" Karin muttered.

'I know this attack!' Sakura thought. "Sasuke-kun… the bushes… in the bushes… snakes."

"You remember my attacks, Hag." Sai said, moving his hand to signal the snakes to move. They all came out at once, three of them, the thickest, went to Juugo, and wrapped themselves around him. The other four went towards Sakura.

Sasuke took his katana out lazily; slicing them in half when they got to close, ink littering the ground.

'Is that it? That's the extent of his ink?' Sasuke thought, looking darkly at Sai. He glanced at Juugo. He had calmed down, and was struggling against the snakes.

"Ugh, you take him, Sasuke. I'll wait here." Suigetsu told him. Sitting back down on the ground, drinking his water. "I'll cover Sakura."

"Whatever." Sasuke muttered, walking towards Juugo, cutting the snakes off of him with ease. "Leave it to me, Juugo."

Juugo said nothing, but stayed where he was, watching Sasuke walk towards Sai. He stopped meters in front of him, glaring, his sharingan swirling in anticipation. Sasuke's hand clenched his katana, noticed by Sai who immediately attacked.

Sakura couldn't see what was happening, but she could hear the clash of metal on metal. 'Sasuke-kun… how much stronger is he? Can he kill Sai?' Were Sakura's thoughts, staring at Suigetsu's back. 'Damnit! I can't see!'

Her eyes widened at the sound of a sword slicing through a body. Her eyes widened in fear, wanting to know who it was. "Damn, a clone." Suigetsu muttered. 'Thank goodness… It's not Sasuke-kun…' Sakura sighed.

Bushes rustled behind Sakura, scaring her stiff. She turned her head slowly, seeing one of Sai's beasts, staring at her, ready to pounce. Her muscled flexed, and she moved, jumping out of the way, she collapsed immediately after landing on her feet, breathing heavily. She heard Suigetsu curse and turned her head to see him using some sort of water jutsu.

Suigetsu appeared beside her. "You've got quick reflexes." He told her.

Sakura nodded and looked towards Sasuke. He was winning by far. Sai was out of breath and he had small cuts all over his body. Sasuke stood straight, attacking with speed Sakura didn't know he could learn. One moment he was in one spot, the next he was in a completely different spot. 'So this is the power Orochimaru can give…' She thought, in awe.

'He's fighting for me again…' She thought after a couple of minutes. 'Making him suffer like I did.' It was true, Sasuke had countless opportunities to kill Sai, but he only grazed him, leaving him with cuts all over his body.

Sakura's anger spiked. 'I trained for three damn years and I'm laying here doing nothing!? No… Tsunade-sama taught me her technique for a reason…' Forcing herself to sit up, she held her hand open, looking at the purple diamond on the palm of her hand.

"Sakura, I have taught you all I can… you now have all the medical knowledge that I possess. I've taught you perfect chakra control, taijutsu… there is one more." Tsunade told her. "It's something I developed myself." She paused and laughed, "You've probably wondered why I still look so young… well, this jutsu allows me to."

Sakura listened to her teacher intently, eager to learn a new technique. "You developed your own jutsu, Tsunade-shishou?" She asked.

Tsunade nodded. "You see the diamond on my forehead?" Sakura nodded. "Well, I have stored years of chakra there, ready to use if need be."

Sakura smiled. 'It's now or never to use it… I can kill him myself…' Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she opened them and slowly formed her hand into a hand sign. Closing her eyes again, she concentrated, focussing all of her stored chakra to release.

Upon focussing, purple markings crept up her arms; ending at her chin. "Reserved Seal Release!" She muttered, at that moment, her body began to glow green; all of her injuries healing. She opened her eyes and smirked, seeing Sai watching her with a blank expression. "Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration!" She called out, her body glowing brighter, her hair blowing in an invisible wind. Then it stopped.

Sakura stood there, her fists clenched, chakra being focussed to both fists. When she did look up, she glared hard at Sai, walking towards him. She raised her fist. "Sasuke-kun. I'll finish him." She growled, stopping beside him.

"Mitotic Regeneration?" He asked.

"Yes… my body will heal itself for the duration of this jutsu, almost instantaneously. I'm fine, don't worry…"

"There are after-affects." Sasuke stated.

"Yes." She whispered back. "Now let me finish him, I deserve that much." Raising her fist, glowing blue with chakra, she whispered, "Get back."

* * *

Yes, yes, I know... I said no cliffies... but I had all of these chapters as one long chapter, and it's hard to break it apart without having a cliffy. Chapter 4 won't have too bad a cliffy, but it won't leave you hanging! ...I hope... 

I should have chapter 4 up by wednesday at the latest! REVIEW PLEASE! Tell me what you think!!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own naruto.

Last time:

"Mitotic Regeneration?" He asked. 

"Yes… my body will heal itself for the duration of this jutsu, almost instantaneously. I'm fine, don't worry…"

"There are after-affects." Sasuke stated.

"Yes." She whispered back. "Now let me finish him, I deserve that much." Raising her fist, glowing blue with chakra, she whispered, "Get back."

* * *

Chapter 4 

Not waiting for him, she punched the ground, creating a massive earthquake; the ground splitting beneath their feet. Sai was forced to jump out of the way, into the air, thus leaving him open. Sakura jumped up to meet him, punching him in the face, sending him back to the ground.

'She's grown…' Sasuke thought, watching, who he thought was just a medical ninja, fight with strength greater than Juugo's.

"Wholly shit!" He heard Suigetsu yell over the explosion of Sakura's punches.

Sakura once again punched the ground, upon missing Sai as he dodged. "Sai, when are you gonna quit dodging and fight me?!" She yelled at him. "Or are you that much of a coward when you know you're gonna lose?!"

Sai didn't answer, just watched her straighten up and lunge at him again; angry tears forming in her eyes. "Sai! You bastard, answer me! Why did you betray us?! Why did you betray the village? Is it that Danzo guy? Answer me!" She screamed frantically, landing a punch on his stomach.

"Why did you betray us?! Betray the team?! Sai!" She screamed again, hitting him with a chakra powered kick; his body flying feet away from her, landing with a dull thud, unmoving. She slowly walked up to him, breathing hard, tears streaming down her cheeks. She then picked him up by the collar of his shirt, bringing him to his feet. "Why did you betray me? I was the only one on the team willing to give you a chance. I talked to you, treated you like a human!"

"It was orders, hag. Danzo-sama in my only master, I listen to him, obey him. I do as he wishes so that what he wants may happen." Sai said clearly, allowing everyone in the, now large, clearing hear.

"You don't care about any of us?! I trusted you! Do you have any idea what that was like, breathing that _shit_ in?! Do you know how it felt? How I still feel? Even with my whole body healed, it's still there!"

"I don't care about any of you." Sai told her, smiling his fake smile. "I was merely on your team on Danzo-sama's orders. You knew of my mission that day; to kill Uchiha Sasuke… and get enough trust from Orochimaru-san to get his help to destroy Konoha. All so that Danzo-sama may take the title as Hokage."

"You don't have the right… to even call yourself _human_! Naruto was right about you… he was right about you from the beginning. You didn't change… we all thought you had; but you're still helping him!" Sakura yelled again.

Sai merely stared at her, emotionless. "Do you have _anything_ to say?!" Sakura asked viciously. Sai said nothing. Closing her eyes, she brought her hand up, swirling blue chakra surrounding it. Sasuke watched her curiously.

"Good bye, Sai." She said, and wrapped her fingers around his neck, severing his windpipe upon contact. She let him drop to the ground and watched him die slowly. His eyes wide, staring at her. "How's it feel, to breath in nothing?" She asked him quietly. "I trusted you Sai… I really did…"

Sakura looked at her arm, the dark purple markings receding to the seal. 'The power… it's gone.' She thought, breathing heavily, her body feeling weak once again, her lungs aching. She took one look at Sai and backed away, realisation setting in. She stumbled once and fell. "I – I – I… I killed him…" She whispered, staring at her hand.

Sasuke watched as Sakura stumbled back, and stared at her shaking and bruised hand. "Wow. She can fight." Suigetsu commented, crossing his arms over his chest. Sasuke frowned at her slowly receding chakra levels, and made his way over to her.

"Damnit, Sasuke. You said you have no bonds. What are you doing with _her_ then?" Karin hissed.

Turning to face her, Sasuke glared. "You know nothing about me Karin. People change." He sneered in her direction. "If it bothers you so much, then leave; I hold no bonds with you."

Karin visibly fumed, glaring at the pink-haired girl. "Everything was fine before she came along! Damnit. I almost had him!" She groaned quietly in anger.

"Dream on, Karin. The guy hates you; always has." Suigetsu informed her, shrugging.

Sakura couldn't help it, she started to cry, cry over something so trivial, it was embarrassing. She had killed someone. Taken a life never to be brought back; never to see the light again. It wasn't who she killed, it was the whole concept of a _medical-nin_ killing someone.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped. She closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head. "I killed him…" She whispered painfully. "I shouldn't have done that…"

Sasuke bent down beside her. "Sakura, he almost killed you… he was_ still_ _trying_ to kill you. You are not at fault."

"I am… I'm supposed to save lives, not take them; it doesn't matter who it is…" She choked out, crying in her hands.

Sasuke shook his head. "If I heard correctly… he was helping to plan the destruction of our home. You did Konoha a favour."

Sakura froze. "O – _our_… home. Sasuke, you said 'our'."

"I know I did."

Sakura smiled despite her tears and threw her arms around him, hugging him happily. "I missed you so much… do you mean it? Are you really coming home?" She asked quietly, crying into his shoulder. Sasuke smirked slightly, standing up, and pulling her with him, his hands on her waist.

"I…" He hesitated. Sure, he planned on going back when he said that, but not after he had killed Itachi. But now, he didn't know. Upon taking care of Sakura in her weakened state, he somehow… regretted leaving in the first place. Regretted not being there to help her; to prevent what she went through. Sure, he got his power, and now all he was doing was gathering information on where to find Itachi; but with only four people, he wasn't getting anywhere fast. There was bound to be more information on him in Konoha; all he had to do was be patient.

"Yeah…" He whispered into her ear. "I'm coming home."

She let out a cry of happiness and hugged him tighter; crying harder. "N – Naruto will be so happy! And Kakashi-sensei, too!" She told him quietly. "You know, Naruto went training with Jiraiya-sama for three years too, he's really grown. You should see the new jutsu he developed with Yamato-taichou and Kakashi-sensei! It's amazing. It's with the Rasengan and his wind chakra…"

Sakura pulled her head up to face him, her arms secured tightly around his neck. "Sorry, I'm babbling, aren't I?" She giggled, happiness overflowing within her.

"Slightly." Sasuke smirked.

Sakura leaned up against him, sighing. "I'm not going to use that jutsu again… Tsunade-sama wasn't kidding when she said I'd get exhausted…" She mumbled. She looked up at him, her eyes full of happiness. "When are we going home?"

Sasuke looked up at the sky, breathing in deeply. "The sun will set in a few hours… and you need rest. So in the morning."

"Are you two done? It's like you're about to make out." Karin snarled, stomping her foot in anger.

Glaring at Karin, Sakura was about to retort, but was stopped when Sasuke beet her to it. "Shut up, Karin. I have no further use for any of you… but if you want to come to our village, I'm sure the Hokage would give you a chance."

Juugo looked to the ground. "I don't know if I can… there's too many people. I could go crazy and hurt someone."

"Juugo, do you know who the Hokage is?" Sakura asked quietly. He shook his head. "It's Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin. She's the best medical ninja to ever come from our village; I'm sure she could find a way to help you…"

"Thank you, Sakura-san." He said quietly, holding up his arm letting birds land there. He smiled contentedly. You'd never know that he was the origin of the cursed seal at first glance.

Sakura smiled happily, watching Juugo give a small smile to the birds. She then looked over towards Tsuyu and her eyes widened, she cowered into Sasuke, since she had no chakra, she was close to helpless. Sasuke followed her gaze and frowned.

She was hovering over Sai's dead body, his pack was open and she was wrapping an explosive tag to the hilt of a kunai, staring coldly in Sakura's direction. "You killed him. You killed him Sakura-san, he saved our lives and you killed him!" She screamed frantically, squeezing the paper in her hands.

"No! Don't squeeze it!" Sakura called frantically, trying to run towards her. "Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?! Let me go! I can't let her die."

He didn't answer, or let her go. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and jumped away, narrowly avoiding the blast. All that could be heard was the trees rustling and the echo of Tsuyu's scream.

"You wouldn't have made it, Sakura." Sasuke stated quietly, landing smoothly on the ground. Letting Sakura go, he draped one of her arms over his shoulder. "Come on, we need to get back to the camp." He said and started walking away, helping her along.

Sakura looked behind her at the small crater left from the tag and closed her eyes, shaking her head. Juugo followed them and looked back at Suigetsu and Karin. "Aren't you coming to Konoha?" He asked.

Karin shook her head. "No, I'm not." She walked the other way, and jumped into the trees. Juugo then looked towards Suigetsu.

"Are you kidding me? I can't go, not yet. I still have to get all of the swords of the Seven Swordsmen. I've got Zabuza's, I need the others." He said, walking towards the stream, leaving Juugo to follow Sasuke and Sakura.

s-S-s

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura mumbled drearily, still half asleep. She lay next to the fire, Sasuke beside her, sitting and staring into the flames. His hands folded under his chin and his elbows resting on h is knees; his thinking position.

"Hn?"

"Do you know how… to get back to Konoha?"

Sasuke almost smiled. "Yeah… I do."

She smiled and closed her eyes. "I haven't seen Naruto and Kakashi-sensei in so long…" She mumbled quietly. "…Do you think they're wondering... where I am?"

Sasuke didn't answer. 'She's asleep…' He thought, looking towards her, a smirk traced his lips; he couldn't believe she had asked such an important question to her and just fall asleep.

"Did she just fall asleep, Sasuke?" Juugo asked, having listened in on what the two were saying. Out of the three shinobi Sasuke had gathered for Team Hebi, Juugo was the only one he trusted.

"Yeah…" He muttered, looking up at the stars. 'Where are Kakashi and Naruto? I'm pretty sure Kakashi's dog summons could have found Sakura's scent… so why haven't we run into them?'

Thousands of questions ran through Sasuke's head. Team seven had been close, and they would never give up on a member unless they were dead; or they would die trying to save them.

Maybe that was it.

Maybe they thought Sakura to be dead? _"It was orders, hag. Danzo-sama in my only master, I listen to him, obey him. I do as he wishes so that what he wants may happen."_

Could it be that Danzo had told them Sakura was dead? That he had sent Sai to find her and bring her back? Sai would have done anything Danzo told him to do; drugging and holding Sakura hostage proved that.

'What will they think if she's with me when we get back?' Sasuke thought absently. 'If they believe she's dead? They would have wanted a body, wouldn't they?'

'No… Naruto wouldn't just give up like that.' Sasuke thought firmly after a couple of minutes of debating. Naruto would bring back a body with or without permission from the Hokage. He'd leave and become a missing nin just to find someone he cared about. That was for certain.

s-S-s

As the hours dragged into the night, Juugo had taken over watch for Sasuke as he had been awake the previous night, keeping an eye out for Sai, and he needed to get at least a couple of hours of sleep. Juugo had found it strange that, because Sasuke's former teammate had been found in such bad condition, he'd momentarily forgotten about his revenge. Juugo remembered clearly that when Sasuke had gathered them; he had said that he had no bonds; that he'd form no new ones. His mind was solely on finding Itachi and getting his revenge.

And now, he had lay down next to Sakura, inconspicuously brushed hair out of her face, before falling asleep himself. The move had been so quick; Juugo wondered why he even bothered. 'Was he checking her temperature?' He had wondered. 'Is she still sick?'

Getting up once, he put the back of his hand to Sakura's forehead, and found it normal. She had no fever, well, as far as he could tell. He smiled. 'Sasuke can't break his bonds no matter how hard he tries. They are like his family now; and you can't tear yourself away from family…'

Sasuke must have gotten less than four hours of sleep before he woke up again. It seemed that every day, he'd wake up at the crack of dawn; no matter how much sleep he had gotten.

"We should go." Sasuke said, facing Juugo. "I want to get there before the streets get busy."

Juugo nodded and started to put out the fire, and then grabbing what little food they had left. Looking over at Sakura, he thought about how much water she had been drinking, and decided to fill up their canteens. It was only three, seeing as how Suigetsu had taken three for himself and Karin only one.

s-S-s

Sasuke stared down at the sleeping girl. Her breathing seemed to be quicker, slightly laboured. Feeling her pulse, his eyes narrowed in confusion, it was normal; no irregular beats. 'Why is she having problems breathing again, then?' He thought.

He began to shake her awake, and after quite some time, she stirred. She sat up, blinking, staring at Sasuke, confused. Then, as realisation set in, she smiled. "Morning, Sasuke-kun." She whispered.

"I want to get there before the streets get too busy… that way they won't suspect anything." Sasuke told her.

"What is there to suspect?"

"Don't you think Kakashi's nin-dogs could have picked up on your scent easily? Why haven't we run in to anyone? Particularly Naruto." Sasuke said the last sentence quietly, looking to where Juugo was walking back to the campsite.

Sakura frowned and looked to the ground. "Yeah… where is he?" She wondered to herself. Her head snapped, "You don't think Danzo –."

Sasuke nodded. "I think he has everything to do with it…"

"Damnit. Tsunade-sama was right not to trust him." She muttered, standing up. She stumbled a little, but caught herself quickly. 'It's not completely gone…' She thought to herself.

"What did she think?" Sasuke asked.

"When the Third was Hokage, Danzo didn't like the way he made our village; how he kept everything calm. He constantly tried to change Konoha, but everyone liked the way it was… Tsunade-sama, being the Thirds' student at one point, follows his example. She doesn't trust Danzo because he still wants to be Hokage and make Konoha into what he wants…" Sakura explained. "I am Tsunade's apprentice…" She paused and smiled. "She once told me… that she cared for me as if I were to be her daughter… if she thinks I'm dead…"

Sasuke nodded. "I understand…"

"Sasuke-kun… Danzo will want you to be executed… you are a missing nin. He has little power, but he could influence the Council of Elders." She then smiled. "Tsunade let us search for you, and I'm sure she wouldn't let us try so hard if you were just going to be killed. Danzo will no longer be a part of Konoha after we get back… Tsunade would never allow it…" She closed her eyes and looked away, "I would die before I allowed you to be killed."

"Don't say that."

"Why not? Sasuke-kun… I'm sure you're sick of hearing it, but… I really do, I really do love you. I never stopped. I never stopped thinking about you."

Sasuke stayed silent, watching her with emotionless eyes; his face unreadable. The same expression that he looked at her with when she told him the first time. Sakura looked away, her eyes starting to tingle. 'No! I won't cry…' She told herself, firmly.

"I know you don't care… but, love does that." She whispered finally. 'Great… we seemed to be getting close, and now I just pushed him away…' She heard nothing in response. She clenched her fists and walked over towards Juugo.

"Do… do you still have my bag? I – I mean, it's ok if it was lost in the –" She started, but when he smiled slightly at her, he held up his hand which held her bag. "Thank you, Juugo." She whispered, kneeling down and unzipping it.

'Good, nothing was stolen.' She thought with a sigh, rummaging through it. Her heard quickened when she opened the other pocket, where she kept her clothes and something extremely important. "Shit!" She hissed, zipping it closed harshly.

"What is it, Sakura-san?" Juugo asked.

'My mom's locket. It's gone…' Despair filled her eyes, and they began to blur. "Damnit…" She mumbled, standing up. "You wanted to leave now, Sasuke-kun?"

"Is something missing from your pack?" He asked.

Sakura shut her eyes. "No… nothing important…" Her voice cracked at the last word. "Just – just my clothes… do you still have the dress I was wearing before?"

Sasuke nodded and pointed to his tent. Sakura nodded, avoiding looking at him and made her way into the tent, hastily putting on the white dress. It was reasonably clean; just a few dark marks here and there where Seuchi had kicked her.

She walked back out of the tent and headed for her bag again, emptying it and checking every pocket it had. Still, she found nothing. 'Dad's going to be mad…' She thought. 'He trusted my with it, and someone stole it…'

"Sakura, what are you missing?" Sasuke demanded, slightly frustrated that she was now avoiding him. 'Well what does she expect? What am I supposed to day?'

Sakura sighed and stood up once again, breathing in deeper, faster. "My mothers' locket." She whispered. "My dad entrusted me with it and it's gone… Juugo, you didn't see anything on the ground, did you?" She asked quietly, her eyes focussed on the ground.

"No." He answered quietly.

"Alright… lets just go." She stated, and followed after Sasuke.

s-S-s

They had started out walking, and quickly leapt into the tree tops, so as to get there quicker. Sakura had assured them that she was fine, but she found that her breathing was becoming slightly laboured the harder she pushed herself.

She had found that Sasuke kept on taking glances back at her, but she forced herself to move, to not let him know she was having difficulties. 'Damn… it's still in my lungs… it is like a poison?' She thought, 'Maybe the only way to remove it is to use herbs…'

Narrowing her eyes, she took deeper breaths, and focussed on following Sasuke and Juugo. She had lagged behind and Juugo was now ahead of her. 'Come on!' She told herself, forcing healing chakra to her lungs, trying to dissipate the gas.

But as time wore on, she had made no progress. She was still finding it harder and harder to breathe. She had thought about stopping for a minute, to take a break, but she _had_ to tell Tsunade about Sai and Danzo. She needed to know what Danzo was up to; she couldn't afford a break.

* * *

Alright! Chapter 4!!! Ok, there is slight fluff, and I had hoped to make their relationship gradual, but I thought it too cute to take it out. So, I came up with a solution; if you noticed. When she told him she still loved him, I'm _hoping_ that it will play a major role in their relationship. If the next chapter comes out the way I want it, that is.

I stayed up late just so I could finish this and post it for you guys! I didn't even do my science homework... you should be grateful! lol

So, the only _logical _thing to do would be to **REVIEW!**

From the popularity of this when I first posted, I hope to get at least 100 reviews by the time it is done! I don't know why, but having that many reviews gave me a confidence boost in my writing, and that is my goal! 100 reviews by the end of this story!

Thank you all for the reviews!!

Ja ne!


	5. Chapter 5

Alright, I've finished chapter 5! I had to work the last 2 nights, so I didn't really have time. It's probably going to be like that for the next chapter as well, seeing as I work ALL DAY tomorrow.

Anyways, enjoy!

Last time:

But as time wore on, she had made no progress. She was still finding it harder and harder to breathe. She had thought about stopping for a minute, to take a break, but she needed to tell Tsunade about Sai and Danzo. She needed to know what Danzo was up to; she couldn't afford a break.

**Chapter 5**

Another hour had passed, Sakura guessed, and she wasn't doing any better. Sasuke had slowed down for her, glancing at her every couple of minutes. Her lungs were now burning, and she was starting to feel the after affects of using too much chakra. Realising that trying to dissipate the gas from her lungs was futile, she had stopped; but now, she was exhausted.

Now that she had healed her self with the Mitotic Regeneration jutsu, she felt more independent. She had to admit, when she was still weak, she relied on Sasuke a little too much than she liked. She hated that. And now, she would not show that she was hurting; she'd prove that she was strong.

s-S-s

"Sasuke. She's fighting it." Juugo stated quietly, after glancing back at the girl. She was making sluggish movements, her footing rough and unbalanced as she pushed off the branches. She was pale and clammy; her face glistening from sweat. "She can hardly breathe…"

Sasuke glanced back at Sakura, eyes narrowing before he looked ahead of him again. The trees looked like they were about to thin; a sign that the road to Konoha was coming.

"She won't make it…" Juugo stated again. "Her healing jutsu didn't rid her body of the gas…"

_"Even with my whole body healed, it's still there!"_ Sakura's angered words echoed in Sasuke's head. 'It's attacking her lungs…' He thought. 'The trees will be harder to manoeuvre through up here.'

"I know, Juugo. Don't worry… I got her." Sasuke told him quietly, taking a quick glance behind him. Despite her obvious discomfort and struggle, behind her glazed eyes, shined determination.

s-S-s

'The trees are starting to thin… it'll be harder to get by.' Sakura thought absently, swinging herself to the next tree. Her breath caught in her lungs, and she faltered slightly, her hand slipping from the branch too soon. Focussing chakra to her felt, she stuck to the branch she landed on; though, just barely.

She saw Sasuke watch her carefully and grimaced. 'He knows what's going on…' She thought. 'Damn… I can't breathe!' Letting momentum take her, she landed on the next branch and stopped, placing a hand on her chest.

Her knees felt weak, and her head spun; she couldn't take in any more oxygen. She just couldn't make her lungs take in air. Sakura couldn't help it; she started to panic. 'Sasuke-kun…' She thought, falling to her knees. 'Help me…' All thought of independence vanished when she realised she needed help; that she needed it now.

She closed her eyes tightly and tried to ease the constriction on her chest. It worked a little, and she could take in some air. She felt Sasuke's firm grip grasp her upper arm, and she looked up at him and her eyes slightly widened. He looked worried, his eyes slightly narrowed, studying her, and his grip firm, keeping her steady on her knees.

"Sa – Sasuke-kun! Can't – breathe!" She rasped out, her hand moving to her neck. "Tsunade…"

He nodded. "Alright, I'll get you to her." He said, looking at Juugo, who landed beside him. "Help me get her on my back…"

Juugo nodded and helped Sakura to her feet, steadying her. Sasuke bent down a little and Sakura wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. Sasuke then swung her legs into his arms and took off; faster than Sakura ever thought possible, she was surprised Juugo could keep up with him.

"Sakura, where would Tsunade be?" He asked, seeing the gates of Konoha.

"Hokage tower…" She whispered, feeling her grasp slip on his neck. 'Not enough chakra to last the whole way there…' She thought, her lungs feeling constricted once again. She managed to get in one strangled breath, before she couldn't breathe any longer.

Her hands slipped from their hold, and her arms hung over Sasuke's shoulders, limp. Her vision blurred and the last thing she could see was the cursed seal on Sasuke's neck before she lost consciousness.

Sasuke felt his stomach flip when Sakura's arms hung limp over his shoulders, her head falling onto his shoulder. He strained his ears to hear her breathing, but heard nothing. 'N – no!' He thought, stopping and looking at Juugo.

"Juugo, stay here." He said, trying desperately to stop his voice from quivering. "I'll tell them everything and then come back for you." Juugo nodded and watched as Sasuke took Sakura off of his back and into his arms, then disappear in a swirl of white cloud.

s-S-s

"Naruto, for the last time, NO!" Tsunade yelled. "Sakura is perfectly capable of completing the mission. If you remember correctly, she's the one who_ requested_ it."

"But, baa-chan… it's been over two weeks! All of us are worried!" Naruto retorted, slamming his hands down on Tsunade's desk. He was referring to him and Kakashi, Hinata and her team, Lee especially along with the rest of team Gai. Ino was almost in hysterics at this point, breaking down and crying in the most odd moments, only to have her two, equally worried, teammates comfort her.

"So am I! But, I just can't afford to send out any more shinobi; there are too many missions."

"I don't care! I'm going with or without permission, Tsunade-sama. I can't lose Sakura-chan too." Naruto stated firmly. Tsunade's eyes widened; he never calls her by her name or 'Hokage', never any formalities. 'It's now or never.' She thought sadly.

"Naruto…" She started quietly.

"Please… please let me go. I don't want to go without permission… but I can't wait any longer."

"Naruto… listen to me. It's futile. She can't be saved."

Naruto took a step back, eyes wide. "W – what do you mean?" He asked quietly. 'Sakura-chan… no…'

"Danzo sent Sai after her." She started slowly. "He reported back that she had been captured and just recently killed."

Naruto was speechless. He couldn't believe it; he wouldn't… he _couldn't_. He lost his best friend; his brother, and now Sakura too? This was too much to handle. He promised Sakura he'd bring Sasuke back for her; and he has yet to do so. She's gone, and she'll never know he fulfilled his promise.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Tsunade whispered, standing up and walking over to him, placing a hand on his shaking body. "I tried to tell you sooner; but I never had the nerve."

Naruto simply shook his head and blinked away his rapidly approaching tears. He turned around and walked out of the office, attempting to hold back his tears until he was, at least, alone.

All of the sounds normally heard in the Hokage tower, hurried shuffling, Jounin having meetings in rooms down the main hallway, the faint 'poof' when a shinobi took the easy way to the tower, went ignored as Naruto walked slowly through the tower. His eyes were downcast, staring blankly at the floor, reminiscing.

He remembered how she never hesitated to punch him when he was being immature, how she cared for everybody, how she smiled even though she was hurting, how she managed to bring a smile to his face every time he seen her, and how she had been able to get Hinata to finally confess her love to him.

Yes, it's true; Naruto had started to spend time with the shy Hyuuga ever since then, their relationship growing into something fierce. He had Sakura to thank for his happiness. And now, she won't be there for anything else that may happen. She'll never see the man she loves with all of her heart again.

Naruto just let his feet take him where they wanted to go. As soon as he walked out of the Hokage tower and entered the busy streets of Konoha, he realised he was walking the path to where Hinata lived. He needed to tell Hinata what he had learned. He needed to tell everyone.

Everyone deserved to know. Everyone deserved to have their revenge.

With newfound determination, he realised that he _had _to leave Konoha, that he _must_ avenge his sister. First, he decided, he needed to tell the Hyuuga's. Neji would most likely be home, as will Hinata.

s-S-s

Sighing, Tsunade sat in the chair behind her desk, placing her head in her hands. She had a sudden craving for sake… _lots_ of sake. 'Where did Shizune put it?' She asked, opening her top drawer. 'Empty.' She thought, staring into the drawer, glaring. "Damnit! Why did I let her go alone? She wasn't ready, I should have known… I'm supposed to be her teacher…"

Grief overwhelmed her like a tonne of bricks. She wasn't there to save a loved one again! She wasn't there for Nawaki, her little brother. And she couldn't save her first love, Dan. What good was she? If she couldn't even save the ones she cared about, why was she Hokage?

"I don't deserve to be Hokage." She told herself.

"Don't say that, Tsunade-sama."

"You heard, Kakashi?"

All she got in response was silence.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have given her that mission… It's all my –."

"Do you honestly believe Danzo?" Kakashi asked, cutting her off. This startled Tsunade. "You told me yourself he was not to be trusted. And here you are, trusting _his_ word, of all people, that Sakura is gone."

Tsunade's eyes widened and she stood up. "Sai, where is he?" She asked.

"He's not in the village."

"Damnit! Kakashi, have you found her scent?"

Kakashi smirked. "Yes."

"Go. Get Naruto and go." She whispered, relief flooding her system. Sakura couldn't be dead; she can't be. Danzo wants to break her, leave her regretting becoming Hokage. Only so he could take the title when she resigned.

Sakura was alive; she could feel it. She may be in trouble, but she sure as hell wasn't dead. "Tsunade-sama, I have already gone and looked." Kakashi said.

"And?"

"I couldn't find her."

"What?" She hissed, turning around to face the copy ninja.

"The target is dead, and so is Sai. I couldn't find Sakura anywhere."

"Did you try to follow her scent again?"

He nodded. "She was kept in a room for quite a while, judging from what Pakkun said, since the scent was so strong."

"Go on."

"She was taken, rescued. Pakkun didn't recognise the scent."

Tsunade sat down in her chair abruptly, placing a hand on her chest, relieved. "Did you try to follow?"

"Yes. That is when I found Sai's remains. I came straight back. Actually… I just got back."

"So you didn't find her?"

"No. But there was something you should know." Kakashi said, much quieter.

"What is it?" She asked, dreading what he was going to say.

"When I was in ANBU, Sarutobi-sama had us develop a gas; a drug. It shuts down the enemies system, leaving them in a coma. They get little oxygen, and that is what puts them in that state."

Tsunade nodded. She knew of this drug. 'What is he getting at?'

"It is only used on those who are strong chakra wielders; those who could easily break out of ropes, or wire as it is quick acting. I found that same gas in the room Sakura was kept."

"What?!"

"The only way someone could get that drug is if they know someone in the ANBU. In Konoha. Danzo is head of the ANBU Root division." Kakashi said gravely.

"So he is the one! Sai must have…"

"Yes. His scent was in the room as well."

"So she had that to breathe in? For however long she was there?"

"Yes."

"What are the long-term affects?"

"It slowly attacks the lungs. It works in the alveoli, slowly blocking gas exchange to the blood." Kakashi said, walking over to Tsunade's desk. "By now, I'd be surprised if she's breathing. Any medical ninjutsu she might have tried would be useless."

"Shit." Tsunade cursed. "Go find her, now!"

Kakashi nodded and formed a hand seal, but stopped midway. "What? It can't be…" He muttered.

Tsunade stared at him, curious. "What are you waiting for?"

Kakashi smirked and stared at nothing in particular; waiting. He crossed his arms when someone appeared in a swirl of white cloud.

Tsunade immediately stood up, waiting for the person to emerge. When he finally did, Tsunade covered her mouth with her hands. There strode Uchiha Sasuke, with Haruno Sakura in his arms, to her desk, a worried expression o his face.

"Tsunade, she stopped breathing a minute ago." He stated quietly.

"Sakura!" Tsunade yelled, rushing over to the girl. "SHIZUNE!" She then yelled. "You were the one who saved her?" She asked.

"Yes." Sasuke answered, "Look, I'm willing to tell you anything, just tend to her."

Tsunade nodded, and took Sakura from him. Focussing chakra to her arms, she made it engulf Sakura's body. She closed her eyes and sweat immediately formed at her brow. 'Kakashi was right; it doesn't work with any normal medical jutsu. But there is no time, her pulse is slowing; she needs oxygen now.' She thought. Opening her eyes when the door opened, she lay Sakura down on the floor. "Shizune, help me."

"Sakura-chan!" She exclaimed and then her eyes widened in anger. "Danzo…"

"Shizune! Now! Or we'll lose her." Tsunade exclaimed, performing complex hand signs. "Kakashi, draw the runes."

He nodded and bit his thumb. He then began to write kanji around Tsunade and Shizune with his blood, who were still performing the hand signs on opposite sides of Sakura. He then connected the circle to Sakura, tearing her dress open at the front with a kunai, showing her bra and part of her stomach. He stopped at her chest, where her lungs were, and drew an entirely different sign. He then went to where Tsunade was, and did the same thing, connecting it to Sakura.

He left quickly, and stood next to Sasuke, staring at him. 'He couldn't sever his bonds, huh?' he thought, amused, and turned to watch as Shizune and Tsunade finished the last hand sign; their bodies glowing green with healing chakra.

"Ok, now! Shizune!" Tsunade exclaimed, and her chakra pulsed up Kakashi's blood, as did Shizune's. The chakra made its way to Sakura, and her face contorted into that of pain when it engulfed her body, making her hover in the air.

"There are no wounds Shizune, just the drug in her alveoli, stopping gas exchange. We need to draw it out. It'll be hard, as we don't have a medium to help heal." Tsunade explained.

"Hai! It's solely using our chakra!"

"Mould your chakra around the gas and pull it out." She said, closing her eyes. "Kakashi, go get Naruto; he thinks she's dead, there's no telling what he'll do."

"Ok." Kakashi said, and 'poofed' out of the room.

Sasuke watched, his eyes wide, at the amount of yellow gas being pulled from her lungs. Each time they extracted some, Sakura's breath hitched, and she groaned quietly in pain. It pained him to hear her, knowing he couldn't do anything.

Which brought him to a problem. 'Why do I care?' He asked himself. 'Two days, and I care for her more than I ever have. I shouldn't…'

"Ok, Shizune, one last branch…" Tsunade whispered, pushing her chakra harder into Sakura's lungs, trying to take it out as fast as she could; she knew this was a painful jutsu for the patient. Shizune did the same.

And as Sasuke saw the green chakra withdraw from her chest, Sakura gasped loudly, and fell to the floor; the jutsu extinguished. Tsunade and Shizune were both breathing heavily, staring at Sakura with relieved expressions.

Sakura was now breathing normally at that point. Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. 'She's alive…' He thought. 'I made it in time…'

"Sasuke… thank you." Tsunade said quietly, walking over to Sakura, and putting her green jacket on her, covering up her chest. She lifted the girl in her arms, and laid her on the couch that was on the back wall. "She should be fine now. All she needs is rest."

Nodding, Sasuke felt out of place. The last time he was in here was for the mission to protect Idate. It's been over three years since then. "How did you find her?" Tsunade asked quietly.

"I was going to get information on Itachi from that Lord. The girl he sent to show me to him looked like she had been raped, so I decided I'd kill him after. The girl had a broken ankle, and she said one other had been injured…"

"That was Sakura." Tsunade concluded.

"Did she tell you what happened?" Shizune asked.

Sasuke was quiet for a moment, staring at the girl on the couch. "I can show you." He finally said. "I saw in her eyes when she remembered what happened… It's not something Naruto should see."

Tsunade nodded, understanding. "I understand," She said, sitting in her desk chair.

Sasuke closed his eyes and activated the sharingan, placing them in a genjutsu of what Sakura had been through, when his eyes opened. He made sure to show them what Sai had said as well; everything about Danzo, how he planned to align himself with Orochimaru, and his orders to take Sakura prisoner, and jeopardise her mission.

Tsunade stood up a moment later, having seen Sasuke's answer. She was shaking in rage and she began to walk towards the door, her fists already glowing blue with chakra. "Shizune, wait for Naruto and Kakashi to get back."

"Tsunade-sama! Where are you going?"

"To kill him."

"That's not the smartest idea." Sasuke spoke up.

"And why not, Uchiha?! You know what he did to her!" Tsunade raged, turning around to face him.

"He doesn't know Sakura is back. He doesn't know Sai is dead. We can use this to our advantage. He still thinks Sakura is incapacitated, he still believes that you think she's dead." He explained.

"What do you suggest?" Shizune asked, understanding what Sasuke was getting at.

"We have the element of surprise; we have the upper hand. I don't know what you want to do, Hokage, but it's your choice. Just think before you kill him; he may be in line with other shinobi."

"Is Orochimaru really dead? Sasuke?" She asked.

"Yes." Sasuke nodded.

"How did you do it?" Shizune asked quietly, sitting on the couch ad placing Sakura's head on her lap. She began stroking her hair in a comforting manor.

"I took over during the ritual. He's trapped in his own dimension. He's as good as dead."

"What of Kabuto, you didn't kill him, and now –."

"He's injected himself with Orochimaru's remains." Naruto finished, walking into the office, staring at Sasuke's back. He was amazed that he was really here, standing in front of him. "Orochimaru will end up taking over his body." He finished after a pause.

"Naruto." Sasuke muttered, turning around to meet Naruto's gaze.

"Teme. You brought Sakura-chan back?" He asked, turning his gaze to Sakura.

Sasuke nodded, and followed his gaze.

"Are you staying?" Naruto asked quietly. Tsunade and Shizune looked at Sasuke as well, waiting for him to answer.

"Yeah."

Naruto smiled and started to laugh, walking over to Sakura. He was still smiling broadly when he placed a hand on her cheek. "When will she wake up, Baa-chan?" He asked Tsunade.

"I don't know. She's only sleeping right now, nothing serious."

Naruto nodded and turned around to face Tsunade, his face angered. "Who was it? Who did that to her?" He growled.

"It was Sai." Sasuke said. "Sakura killed him."

"Sai?!" Naruto exclaimed. "I knew we couldn't trust him; but did she listen to me? No! What the hell did he do to her?!"

Sasuke looked at Tsunade who sighed. "He drugged her, Naruto. And kept her unconscious for the most part."

"For the most part?" Naruto hissed.

"He suppressed her chakra." Sasuke put in. "She couldn't move around on her own for a day."

"Tell me the truth, Sasuke. What happened to her? I'm not stupid anymore."

Tsunade smiled slightly. "Naruto, don't lose control."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't let the Kyuubi get the best of you, Dobe." Sasuke answered. When Naruto nodded, Sasuke activated his sharingan for the second time, and showed Naruto; despite knowing Naruto shouldn't see; knowing that he could lose himself very quickly.

When Naruto's eyes opened, they were red with black slits as pupils. His hands were shaking, and his claws were cutting into his palms, drawing blood.

"Naruto." Tsunade warned.

"I'm fine. Give me a minute." He muttered, baring his teeth. Minutes past and the sinister chakra that was threatening to engulf Naruto's body started to subside. "So that drug did that to her?" He whispered, sitting down on the floor and crossing his legs beneath him, placing h is hands on his knees.

"Yeah. She stopped breathing on the way here." Sasuke muttered. "Stubborn fool. She pushed herself too hard."

Naruto laughed. "That's Sakura-chan for ya! She likes to feel independent; she doesn't want anyone to have to rescue her like when we were Genin."

'He's gotten control of the Kyuubi already? He's back to normal.' Sasuke thought, watching Naruto. 'He's grown as much as Sakura said he did.'

"When are we going to kill him, Sasuke? You have to admit, we can't let Danzo have free reign like this." Naruto asked, completely ignoring the others in the room.

"Whatever you want to do." Sasuke answered, smirking down at his best friend, while he, grinned widely up at Sasuke.

"Team seven!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

* * *

Ok, well, there is is, hope you enjoyed it! The reunion between Naruto and Sasuke didn't go as I wanted, but, there is always the next chapter! Lets just assume that he's in shock...

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

For those who read 'A New Begining,' I'm sorry, but it's going to be on hold. I have too much swirling in my haed with this one, that I can't focus on that one. Believe me, I've attempted! Anyways, sorry again!


	6. Chapter 6

Last time:

"When are we going to kill him, Sasuke? You have to admit, we can't let Danzo have free reign like this." Naruto asked, completely ignoring the others in the room.

"Whatever you want to do." Sasuke answered, smirking down at his best friend, while he, grinned widely up at Sasuke.

"Team seven!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"Now, Sasuke, there are questions I need you to answer." Tsunade stated, now sitting at her desk.

Sasuke looked up from watching Sakura and nodded.

"What did you do after you killed Orochimaru?" She asked.

"I gathered a team that I had been planning on gathering since I met them all."

"Who are they?" Naruto asked, slightly hurt that Sasuke had chosen them over him and Sakura.

"Juugo, Karin, and Suigetsu."

Naruto nodded and continued to stare out of the window, sitting in a chair next to the couch Sakura was sleeping on.

"Where are they now?" Tsunade asked.

"Karin and Suigetsu went their own ways when I said I was coming back here…"

"Juugo?" Shizune asked, "What about him?"

"He came with Sakura and me. He… he's the origin of the cursed seal." Sasuke said, looking at the Hokage, "He needs your help. He doesn't want to kill anyone but he can't control himself."

Tsunade nodded. "Where is he now?"

"When Sakura stopped breathing, I had to get here quickly, so I had to leave him. I said I'd come back when everything was cleared up."

"Alright, you can go."

Sasuke nodded and stood up, heading for the door. He took one last glance at Sakura before opening the door.

"Teme." Naruto muttered. "You better come back."

"Dobe." Sasuke muttered and closed the door behind him. He sighed and shook his head. 'Even if I wanted to, I couldn't leave again.' He thought sadly.

"_I love you with all of my heart!" _

Sakura's tearful face flashed before his eyes. Why was he remembering that of all things? 'I can't be holding onto bonds. I have to kill Itachi.' He thought forcefully. 'I'll get the information I need here, and I'll go after him.'

"I may have grown up without a family… but you're the closest thing I have ever had to a brother!"

Sasuke shook his head and walked at a brisk pace through the Hokage tower. 'Damnit!' He closed his eyes tightly, reaching the front doors. 'I can't be… I can't… emotions will make me weak… I should just leave with Juugo.'

"_I missed you so much… do you mean it? Are you really coming home?"_

'Why must she have such an affect on me?' Sasuke asked himself, his eyes still closed. He couldn't do it. Something within him told him he _had_ to stay.

You can still avenge your clan and have happiness. Don't push away what family you have.

His mind seemed to repeat that over and over again. Stay… It echoed.

"Live in the most despicable way, little brother."

'Itachi!' Sasuke shouted in his head. He clenched his fists and disappeared in a swirl of cloud. 'I won't do as you say. I will live and kill you my own way.'

He appeared in front of Juugo, an angry expression on his face. He didn't like it at all. He hated the fact that Sakura and Naruto had such an affect on him. He hated the fact that he had found Sakura and came back to Konoha. Sure, he was glad he did find her and got her out of there, but this was all so annoying.

"Is she ok, Sasuke?" Juugo asked quietly from the branches. He was sitting casually, a small bird on his hand, staring at the clouds. He always seemed to calm.

"Yeah, she's sleeping." Sasuke ground out. Glaring at the ground, clenching his fist.

"You want to leave." Juugo stated.

Sasuke's gaze shot up at him, surprised.

"You want to leave, but you can't; you don't want to do what Itachi told you to do."

"How do you know?" He asked quietly.

Juugo smiled lightly. "I've been with you long enough to know you hate your brother; you won't do what he says… that's why you didn't kill that Kyuubi kid, isn't it? It's obvious you'll end up staying here."

Sasuke shook his head and looked to the ground, staring at his hand. He looked back up at Juugo. "Lets just go. Before I do something stupid…"

Juugo nodded and jumped from the tree, the small bird chirped before flying away quickly, joining the flock that flew randomly in the sky. Both, Juugo and Sasuke, watched the bird, feeling calm. Then, they disappeared in a swirl of cloud.

s-S-s

Naruto let out a small sigh of relief from his position on the floor when Sasuke returned. A part of him thought he wouldn't come back, that he just brought Sakura back and left again. But, that part of him was wrong, he came back, like he said. 'Maybe something more happened between them,' He thought, 'Sakura's changed him somehow…'

"You must be Juugo." Tsunade stated when she finally came over the shock of how big he was. "I understand you have mental instability. Tell me about that."

Juugo looked out the window, a distant look in his eyes. "I don't know when it started… but it seems that if I'm around a lot of people, or am isolated, I feel the need to kill. I… can't explain it." He said in a hushed voice, his eyes landing on Sakura. "It seems as if I lose myself; like another part of me decides when he is going to take over. I have no control."

Tsunade nodded and closed her eyes. Her elbows rested on her desk and her hands were folded under her chin. 'It could be a severe case of Schizophrenia. But it has to do with the cursed seal.' She thought. 'This could be a whole different case…'

She opened her eyes and looked at Juugo, studying him. "Do you remember anything from before you were with Orochimaru?"

"No." He said quietly, looking at the ground. "I just remember waking up in a bed. I was strapped to it, and some guy with glasses was doing tests."

Tsunade nodded. "Ok. I came up with two – no, one option. It could be a severe case of Schizophrenia. But, this is the cursed seal. Sasuke said you were the origin of it?"

"Yes. So I've been told."

"Alright… before we try anything, I will have to observe you. I'll need to see you lose control… Is that alright?"

Juugo's eyes widened. "Wh – what?"

"I'll need to see exactly what happens. It could be that you were the first person Orochimaru tested the cursed seal on. Therefore, you could have had memory loss." Tsunade stated. "It hink that it was the incomplete version, thus, giving you a split personality and the need to kill."

"I see…"

"That makes sense, Tsunade-sama." Shizune put in. "It could be the after affects of the seal."

Tsunade nodded. "Exactly."

"I – I don't know how to lose control though… it just happens." Juugo muttered, looking down at the floor.

"We can help you there, Juugo. And don't worry. We won't do anything like Orochimaru did. I will do everything I can to right his wrong." She said sinserely, smiling slightly. She turned to look at Sakura. "Sasuke. I still have some questions for you."

Sasuke nodded and glanced at Sakura quickly. She was still sleeping, a calm and tired look on her face. Tsunade turned to look at him and nodded at his response. She glanced at Naruto, knowing no one was supposed to be in a room while an interrogation was taking place, but she doubled she'd ever be able to get Naruto to leave. And she didn't want to move Sakura; considering what she's been tough. She didn't want to wake her up.

"Alright, what kind of experiments did Orochimaru perform?" She asked sternly. "What did he use to test them on?"

Sasuke looked to the ground, and an angered look adorned his face. "He used people." He said through clenched teeth. "He usually performed jutsu's that he discovered to test their capability… or various poisins Kabuto made."

"That bastard!" Naruto yelled, causing Sakura to stir. She groaned softly, and her eyes squinted.

"N – Naruto… Kakashi… sensei…" She whispered, a pained expression wound its way to her face. She groaned and everyone was at her side. Kakashi had put his book back in his pouch and watched from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Sakura, honey?" Tsunade asked quietly, rushing over and placing a green, glowing hand on her forehead. Sakura's face relaxed, and she began to open her eyes.

"Thank goodness…" Shizune smiled, placing her hand on Sakura's cheek.

Sakura blinked a few times, clearing her vision, before her eyes locked on Naruto. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she looked at everyone else in the room. Her eyes landed on Sasuke and she smiled lightly, thanking him for saving her life, again. He nodded and smirked.

Naruto grinned broadly, and before he could help himself, gathered her into his arms. "I'm sorry I didn't try to find you! That would be Baa-chan's fault. And you brought back Teme!" He paused, and tightened his hold on her. "I'm sorry I didn't fulfill my promise…"

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered, "That doesn't matter anymore." Her voice cracked. "We're all back… we're a team again…"

Kakashi decided now was the time, so he ruffled her hair with his hand, smiling under his mask; his one visible eye the evidence of that. "Kakashi-sensei…" She muttered. She broke away from Naruto's grasp and hugged him tightly, crying into his jounin vest. "I – I killed him…"

Kakashi looked down at her and smiled. He rubbed her back and placed his other hand on her head, ruffling her hair in the process. "You did what you had to, Sakura. If you didn't, me or Naruto would have done it anyways." He spoke to her softly.

Sasuke watched in confusion. Sakura and Kakashi were never this close before. Naruto noticed and grinned, walking over to him. "Her dad is always on missions, earning money for her mom. Kakashi-sensei is like her 'fill-in' dad."

"What's wrong with her mom?"

Naruto shook his head. "Ask her. She'll tell you when she wants to."

"Kakashi, how's mom?" Sakure asked, looking up at him.

"She's ok. If anything, she's getting stronger." He smiled.

Sakura sighed and sank to her knees. "I lost her locket… It was stolen… Dad is going to be mad… again…"

"It's ok, Sakura. He was worried for you, he won't care for the locket; all that matters is that you're home." Tsunade said finally, kneeling next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I wan't to see my mom." She said quietly, looking at the floor. "Please."

Tsunade nodded. "Of course. She's making progress, Sakura, so don't worry too much."

Nodding, Sakura allowed Tsunade to help her to her feet. She looked around the room, and her eyes landed on Sasuke again; he and Naruto were talking. 'He's asking about my mom.'

Naruto looked over to her, a questioning look on his face. She understood and nodded. She then looked at Tsunade and smiled. "You can tell him while I'm gone, if you want." She whispered.

Tsunade nodded. "Shizune, would you take her? I've still got questions to ask Sasuke."

"Of course!" She replied, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder, leading her to the door. Once gone, Tsunade walked back to her desk and sat down.

"What happened to her mother?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask.

s-S-s

"Mom?" Sakura's voice broke as she walked into the hospital room. Tears had made their way to her eyes and she smiled.

"Sakura-chan! You're ok!" Her mother cried, turning her head to face her daughter.

Sakura nodded and walked over to her bed, laying down next to her and hugging her mother. "I'm sorry… I took that mission so that I could make more money for you… I thought I could handle it, but I couldn't." She started sobbing. "I was so scared, mom!"

Mrs. Haruno hugged her daughter as tight as her weak body allowed, rubbing her back in soothing circles. "It's ok, honey. You're here and that's all that matters! I'm going to make a full recovery, as Tsunade-sama says… so don't worry about it. Just stay home for a while and rest."

"But… you'll be paralyzed…"

"That doesn't matter to me. I don't want you to risk your life for me."

Sakura nodded and snuggled into her mothers' side. "I lost your locket…" She mumbled quietly. "I hid my pack before I was captured… it was gone when I was saved. I'm so sorry mom, I know how much it meant to you…"

"Don't worry about things like that! You can't be replaced! I'm just glad to have you here, in my arms, Sakura."

Sakura choked a sob and cried her heart out. "I won't leave you again…" She whispered.

Mrs. Haruno smiled and rested her head on her daughters'. She began to hum a lullaby, calming Sakura. Her tears stopped, and she began to feel tired, laying on her mom. "Who saved you, Sakura? I would like to thank them."

"Uchiha Sasuke…" Sakura mumbled tiredly. "He's back… I brought him back."

"I'm so happy for you, Sakura! When he is done being questioned, I would like to see him." She looked at Shizune who nodded, and left the room.

Sakura lifted her head up. "How did you know he was being questioned?"

She smiled. "I'm not that ignorant. He was with Orochimaru and a missing nin for a while, of course Tsunade-sama would want to question him."

"I underestimated you, mom." Sakura whispered quietly.

"What happened to you, sweetie? Please, I want to know…"

Sakura stifened and she shook her head vigorously. "N – no… I don't want you to know… please, understand, mom."

"Honey, I have a right to know what happened to my own daughter." She said sternly, tightening her hold. "If you won't tell me, I will ask Kakashi-san. Or Sasuke."

"Please, mom…" Sakura whispered. "It would put too much stress on you."

"I don't care." She hissed. "I want to – no, I need to know what happened to you. Sakura, at least tell me who did it."

Sakura hesitantly nodded. "Well, my mission was to rescue girls who were, slaves, as you could put it, for this Lord. And then kill him."

Mrs. Haruno nodded. "Go on, honey."

"W – well, you remember Sai?" She nodded. "H – he was ordered by Danzo to stop my mission… he captured me and held me unconscious…"

"Sai?! That weird one on your team?!" She hissed angrily.

Sakura nodded. "I – I killed him, mom. I didn't mean to, it just – it just happened…"

"Who is Danzo?" Mrs. Haruno asked.

"He's Konoha's military leader. He wants the title of Hokage so he can govern Konoha as he sees fit."

"So he used you to get to the Hokage?" She asked quietly.

Sakura nodded slowly and closed her eyes. She let out a long sigh and het her mind become blank, welcoming sleep to overcome her. She could feel her mothers' soft breathing beneath her head, her chest humming with the lulliby, and her fingers combing through her hair. 'I'm home…' She thought. 'I'm never going to leave again…'

s-S-s

Tsunade sighed exasperatedly. "When am I going to get to question you without interuptions?" She asked.

Sasuke continued to stare at the Hokage, not answering her question. "If you don't tell him, Baa-chan, I will." Naruto stated quietly.

Tsunade glared at the boy. "I'm her doctor, I'll explain." Naruto nodded, and sat on the floor, looking glum. Sasuke watched him as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, a sad expression on his face. He turned to Tsunade when she spoke. "Ami Haruno was poisoned."

"It was when me, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei went on the mission to save Gaara. We came home and Sakura found her mom. She was still alive, but unconsious. Her father was on a mission with the ANBU; he wasn't home at the time." Naruto said.

Tsunade nodded. "We still don't know who or what did it. But, she's stable now, and it seems that the poison is leaving her body."

"The only thing is… she's paralyzed." Kakashi added, stepping beside Sasuke.

"She has no control of her body below the waist. She will be in a wheel chair for the rest of her life." Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed. "Sakura has taken this pretty hard. Her mission was supposed to get her enough money so she could buy some herbs grown in Suna. She thinks she had figured out an antidote for the poison, and we are not able to grow that particular herd here. It is extremely hard to grow and expensive."

Sasuke nodded. "What is the poison doing to her body?"

"It's killing nerve cells. We weren't able to find a point of injection, but seeing as how it is most concentrated in her lower body, maybe her foot or something."

"This is probably killing Sakura-chan. She loved her mother so much." Naruto stated quietly, standing up, he looked towards the door as Shizune walked in.

"Sasuke, Mrs. Haruno wishes to see you…"

"It'll have to wait." Tsunade said, "I am questioning him now. It'll take five minutes at the most."

Sasuke nodded and looked out the window, listening and answering Tsunade's questions. "Ok, how many shinobi did Orochimaru have?"

"I can't say. He had so many bases that I don't know the exact number. There are many though, at the most the equivalent of konoha." Sasuke answered.

Tsunade wrote it down, frowning. "How did Kabuto react to Orochimaru's death?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know. I walked away. I didn't wait for his reaction."

"What did Orochimaru do when you first got there three years ago?"

"He talked to me about the cursed seal and started training me. We made a deal. I didn't care if he took over my body, as long as he killed Itachi."

"Were you mentally retarded?!" Naruto screamed at him, "Were you that bent on power that you'd let him take your body?!"

Sasuke glared at him and continued. "He trained me in taijutsu, chakra control, ninjutsu, genjutsu… and I trained by myself, perfecting the sharingan. I realised that I had surpassed him, so when he attempted to take over my body, I killed him."

Tsunade smiled. "It seems all of our students are surpassing us, huh, Jiraiya?"

"Yes. The next Sannin." He said from outside the window, where he always was.

"Pervy Sage! You were there the whole time?!" Naruto yelled, pointing a finger at the window. At that moment, Jiraiya jumped into the room and hit Naruto over the head.

"I told you to stop calling me that! Not in front of others!"

"It's true though!" Naruto defended, rubbing his head and glaring.

"Ok, Sasuke, that is all for now." Tsunade said, smiling.

Sasuke nodded and looked at Shizune who placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come, Ami wishes to see you."

"Where's Sakura?" He asked, walking out of the room with her.

Shizune smiled. "Oh, she's with her mom still. Just sleeping."

Sasuke nodded. "Why does she want to see me?"

"To thank you, I suppose." She answered. "She miscaraged a few years ago, and loves Sakura more than anything."

Sasuke smiled, 'Just like my mom.' He thought.

s-S-s

Shizune led Sasuke through the hospital, stopping in front of a door that humming was coming from. She smiled at Sasuke and gestured him to go in, and started to walk down the halls, back to the hokage's office.

Sasuke opened the door quietly, and stepped in. The humming stopped and he turned around, looking at Sakura laying on her mom's chest, and sleeping. "Uchiha Sasuke?" She asked barely a whisper. He nodded and walked over to the bed, standing over her.

"You saved my daughters' life… thank you."

Sasuke nodded and sat down. "I don't know how to repay you… she means the world to me. She's the only child I have left, and I'd die if I lost her." Mrs. Haruno confided in him. Sasuke stayed silent, staring at Sakura.

"Sasuke, can I ask you something?" She asked after a while. "What happened to her? Sakura won't tell me."

Sasuke turned his gaze to her. "I don't know if I should, Haruno-san. She must have her reasons."

"She said I'm too weak to handle it. That it'll be too stressful."

Sasuke nodded. "I agree with her." He said quietly.

"Please. Just briefly explain to me. I don't need the details, I just need to know what my daughter went through. So I can help her."

Sasuke stared at her for a while. He looked right into her tired, hazel eyes. He nodded, and spoke in a hushed whisper. "She was captured after she came up with a plan to complete the mission. It would have worked if Sai hadn't interfered. He drained her chakra, so that she couldn't fight back."

"She said that she was kept unconsious. How?"

"A drug… that almost killed her. I got her here in time." Sasuke answered, watching as she clutched Sakura to her tighter.

"Thank you, Sasuke, dear." She whispered and kissed Sakura's forehead. Sasuke almost smiled. She reminded him so much of his mother, the way she held Sakura close to her, and kissed her.

Sasuke looked out of the window, and leaned back in the chair. 'Sakura will probably be mad that I told her…' He thought with a sigh.

"Do you need somewhere to stay, Sasuke?" She asked suddenly.

Sasuke nodded.

"Would you like to stay at our house? I'm sure Sakura wouldn't mind, and we have room. My husband is hardly home… because of me… but he would be glad to let you stay."

Sasuke shook his head. "No, it's fine."

She nodded. "Alright. But if you ever do… you know where to go."

Sasuke nodded and stood up. He walked to the door and looked over his shoulder when she called his name. "You probably know, but she loves you, Sasuke. She keeps mumbling your name in her sleep. Just… don't hurt her. Me in this condition is already doing that, but, heartbreak isn't what she needs."

Sasuke smirked when he looked away. "I understand." He said quietly, and shut the door behind him. He leaned against the wall and looked to the ceiling. He smiled lightly. 'Sakura… how can you love me after all this time?' He asked, and listened to Mrs. Haruno hum to her daughter.

* * *

Sorry for the wait. I didn't have much time. With a new semester, which means home work, and work. I wrote when I could though!!

Sorry for any mistakes, I re-read it. Microsoft on my computer, for some reason, won't do a spell check for me or anything. So it was all me editing. I spelled to the best of my ability, and sorry again if there were any spelling or grammar mistakes...

Hope you enjoyed, **REVIEW!!**


	7. Chapter 7

Last time:

_...You probably know, but she loves you, Sasuke. She keeps mumbling your name in her sleep. Just… don't hurt her. Me in this condition is already doing that, but, heartbreak isn't what she needs."_

_Sasuke smirked when he looked away. "I understand." He said quietly, and shut the door behind him. He leaned against the wall and looked to the ceiling. He smiled lightly. 'Sakura… how can you love me after all this time?' He asked, and listened to Mrs. Haruno hum to her daughter._

**Chapter 7**

"Tsunade-baa, what are we going to do about Danzo?" Naruto asked quietly. Sasuke had just left with Shizune and Naruto couldn't wait too much longer to kill the bastard. He laughed to himself bitterly when he discovered that Sai had been killed. He would have killed him slowly and painfully; but, the fact that Sakura had done it made it all the better.

"Like Sasuke said, we still have the advantage. As long as he doesn't find out that Sakura is back and we know that she is alive, it'll be ok. We also need to keep Sasuke hidden." Tsunade explained. "I've been thinking, Naruto…" She paused, "Sai said that Danzo was trying to get to me. What if he was the one who poisoned Sakura's mother? What if he planned all of this out? The mission, everything."

"If he did… well, that's all the more reason to kill him. All of us were worried for Sakura, Baa-chan. I suggest calling in Shikamaru. He is the smartest out of all of us… and besides; we can all keep watch over Sakura and Ami."

Tsunade smiled lightly. "Yes, Naruto go and tell everyone the good news and send Shikamaru here. We have work to do. Danzo can't stay in free reign like this."

"Ok, Baa-chan!" Naruto saluted dramatically and ran out of the room, leaving a fuming Hokage.

"Naruto! Stop calling me that!" She yelled after him. All she got in response was a low chuckle from behind her. "Jiraiya? You're still here?" She asked, turning in her chair.

"Well, I'm hurt. You forgot about me that whole time?" He asked, feigning being hurt. "Although, I agree with you. I think he had everything to do with Ami's ordeal. It makes perfect sense."

Tsunade nodded, standing up and walking to the window, staring out over her village. "Yes… I should have seen this coming, Jiraiya. He always wanted this position, it's not surprising he'd do something so drastic after a while."

"What are you going to do with Sakura and Sasuke? Do you even know where they are?" Jiraiya asked, mocking her.

"Sakura is with her mom, and Sasuke…" She trailed off. "Well, he's not that stupid to go wondering around."

"I'll go get them. Just wait for Shikamaru." He sighed, stepping beside her and jumping out the window when she moved out of the way. 

"Was it the right thing to accept being the Hokage?"

"Then give the title to me, Tsunade." 

s-S-s

"_Alright guys, we need to go. With or without you I'm going to find Sakura-chan."_ _Naruto announced. "Even though Tsunade said she's dead… I can't rest until I find out for sure. So… who's coming?"_

_He had gathered all of the teams. Team Gai, Team Eight and Ten; they were all there. Ino started crying into Shikamaru's shoulder the moment Naruto had announced Sakura dead, and Hinata was shaking, too shocked for any tears or words. Tenten had clasped Lee and Neji's hand hard as they were standing next to her. All three Kunoichi had been good friends of Sakura's._

"_I'm in." Tenten announced, followed by nods from her two teammates. She looked at Hinata who nodded as well. _

"_Hai, I'm coming." She whispered. _

_Akamaru barked in agreement and Kiba smirked down at him, scratching the back of his ears. Shino nodded._

"_Of course I'm going, Shikamaru! Why wouldn't I!" Ino suddenly yelled. Shikamaru had a hand at his forehead, heaving a sigh. _

"_Alright, alright. I was asking if you could handle it, calm down." He muttered, looking away, "Over reaction…" _

"_What?" Ino hissed. _

_He sighed again. "Nothing."_

"_Chouji! Are you coming?" Ino suddenly asked. He nodded furiously, not wanting to anger Ino more. _

"_Y – yes, of course I'll go." He said. "I just need to head home and get some snacks." _

_Naruto smiled sadly. "Ok, we need to work out a plan first, I think. Shikamaru, that seems to be more your style…" He hinted. _

_Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag… alright, let me think." He said, kneeling down and placing his fingertips together, closing his eyes: his 'thinking' position._

_They all had been waiting in silence for a good fifteen minutes. Shikamaru had resorted to sitting down as his legs were cramping up. Naruto was tapping his foot on the ground, pacing up and down the deserted training ground. That was before he had run into something. _

"_Yo!" It said, a little too happily for the depressed mood emanating from the others. _

_Naruto stumbled back and glared at Kakashi. "You're not stopping us, sensei. We're going even if we have to fight you."_

"_No need. Sakura's alive, and Sasuke's back." He said bluntly. "Tsunade-sama is healing her now." He received many gasps and cries of joy from the girls. _

"_Why! Why does she need be healed? It she dying?" Naruto asked, coming out of his shock, and asking the one question everyone wanted to ask. _

_He nodded, and looked to the ground. "She was, but Sasuke got her here in time. She had stopped breathing."_

"_But, why?" Ino asked quietly._

"_Later, Naruto you need to come with me." Kakashi said. "You can come and explain everything to them when you get the details."_

s-S-s

"Guys!" Naruto yelled into the training ground, waving. Ino was still crying, mostly in relief and immediately ran up to him. 

"How is she!" She asked urgently. "Where is she? Is Sasuke still here, or did he leave again?" 

"Woa, Ino, give him some room." Chouji said, walking up, as did the others.

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "She's fine! She is sleeping with her mom right now, and Sasuke… well, Mrs Haruno wanted to talk to him and that's probably where he is." He explained. 

"Why did she want to talk to him?" Kiba asked.

"Thank him. He saved Sakura's life…" He trailed off.

"Naruto-kun… what happened to her?" Lee asked quietly.

Naruto clenched his fists at his sides, gritting his teeth. He sat down and put his face in his hands. Then, he began to tell them everything. All about Sakura's mission, to how and why she was captured, what Sai had done to her, and what that 'Lord' had to do with it all.

It was safe to say, everyone was appalled. Lee had fire in his eyes, talking about how he had began to trust Sai, and how 'un-youthful' this was on his 'poor cherry blossom'. Ino started crying again, leaning against Hinata now. 

"Sai… he did this?" Neji asked. "The guy that was on your team?"

Naruto nodded, not looking up from the ground. "Ah…" He stood up abruptly, "I need to see Sasuke…" He then began to walk away. He turned his head. "Oh, Shikamaru, Baa-chan wants to see you. Ino… you should probably come see Sakura…"

Ino and Shikamaru followed, stepping up behind him. "Why does she want to see me?" Shikamaru asked, stifling a yawn.

"You're a top strategist, figure it out." Ino muttered. "Jeez, Shikamaru."

Naruto grinned. "Ok, lets get going, Ino." He started running, and called behind his back, "Good luck Shikamaru!"

Ino stopped when Shikamaru did and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, hugging him briefly. "Thanks… Shika." She whispered before running after Naruto. "Naruto, wait!" 

Shikamaru watched her leave, a light blush on his cheeks. His hand unconsciously touched the spot Ino's lips had touched him, and he found himself smiling. He shook his head, the smile still evident on his face as he walked lazily to the Hokage tower. All the while, wondering why he felt so warm. "Troublesome…" He muttered through his smile.

s-S-s

"Sasuke," Jiraiya started, walking up to him. "You can't just stay here where Danzo could find you."

"Hn." He mumbled, pushing himself off of the wall. He started to make his towards the entrance of the hospital, until Jiraiya chuckled. 

"What about Sakura, Sasuke?" He asked. 

Sasuke stopped and turned around, facing the Sanin. He gave him an odd look, "Well then, get her." He said.

He shook his head. "No. I'm not taking her. The last time I _tried_ to help, I got…" He shuddered, "No, you get her. She wouldn't hurt you."

'She… beat him?' Sasuke thought and smirked. "Just like Tsunade, huh, Jiraiya?" He asked, walking back over towards Ami Haruno's room. 

He shuddered. "Yeah. Well, anyways, meet back in Tsunade's office. Make sure you two aren't seen by any ANBU." Sasuke nodded and stepped into the room, relieved to see Ami at least awake. 

"You're back?" She asked quietly. 

He nodded, closing the door behind him. "I need to bring Sakura with me. We can't let Danzo know me and her are alive and in the village." He explained. He looked at Sakura still sleeping, clinging onto her mothers' shirt like a little girl. He almost smiled. 

"Alright, I understand… Sakura, you need to wake up, sweetie." She said, placing a hand gently to her daughters' cheek. "You need to go."

Sakura groaned and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "What?" She asked quietly, opening her eyes slowly. She began to realise someone else was in the room, and looked over to Sasuke, her eyes widening. "Sa – Sasuke-kun! What…?" She started.

"You need to stay hiding, honey. Danzo can't know you're in the village. You being here is too risky." Ami said to her daughter. 

Sakura nodded and sat at the edge of the bed. "How long was I sleeping for?" She whispered, hating the silence emanating from Sasuke. 

"A little over an hour, honey." 

Nodding, Sakura hugged her mom tightly. Whispering in her ear, "I love you… just get better, ok?" 

Ami nodded. "Of course sweetie. Now go on!" She ushered. She looked at Sasuke kindly, "Look after my daughter, please, Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura blushed and looked away from Sasuke, glaring at her mother childishly. "Embarrass me?" She mouthed. Her mother only giggled, shooing her with a swish of her hand. 

"Come on, Sakura." Sasuke muttered, waiting at the door. Sakura kissed her mom on the cheek before rushing out the door. She walked slightly behind him, her hands clasped in front of her nervously. 

"Sasuke-kun…" She started quietly. "I – I'm sorry about before… I just wanted to –"

"Don't worry about it." He muttered gruffly, stopping at the entrance of the hospital, causing Sakura to run into his back and softly mumbling an apology. He shushed her and watched through the small window. ANBU were scouting the village. "Shit." He cursed.

"W – what is it?" Sakura asked. 

"Danzo… he found out." 

Sakura froze and her eyes grew angry. "That bastard." She muttered, "He's probably with Tsunade-sama right now. He must've overheard something…"

Sasuke looked back at Sakura and his eyes widened, he pulled her towards him, and moved back. Where they were a second before was now a young boy holding a katana like he had just swung it. Sakura gasped and looked at the boy with pity in her eyes. He was the same as Sai; trained to live without any emotion.

His cold eyes slowly looked over to the couple, his eyes narrowed and he charged again. "He's not as skilled as Sai was." Sakura muttered catching the boys' arm in her hand, stopping him in his tracks. She hit the base of his neck, knocking him unconscious. 

He dropped to the floor and Sakura looked up from his body to see nurses and attendants staring at her and Sasuke wide-eyed, their mouths open slightly. 

"Sa – Sakura-san?" One of them stuttered, approaching her. "Y – you're back? A – alive?"

Sakura smiled and nodded. "Yes, Yuki, I am. Please, take this boy to a room and keep him locked in there."

"Why were you being attacked, Miss Haruno? Surely you have done something." One of the older ones asked, a scowl on her face. "You should know better than to fight! Let alone in a hospital! Just go quietly so as to not cause trouble!" 

Sasuke frowned and looked towards Sakura, seeing a smile on her face. "I suggest you get back to work. What happens to me does not concern you. Though, as the _Hokage's_ apprentice, you'd think I'd know that. Now please, don't tell any ANBU where we've gone. This is important."

"That is highly suspicious, Miss Haruno. ANBU are higher in status than you and your boyfriend there." Sakura blushed at that comment. "And you don't expect me to just _lie_ to them!" 

Yuki spoke up and glared at the attending doctor. "I suggest you do as Sakura-san says… unless you'd like to get fired. Like she said, she's Tsunade-sama's apprentice and head doctor in this hospital." She smirked. "What you decide to do can either make you… or break you."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Yuki! Now, if any of you get brought in, I'll personally get you out. Though, I don't think it will come to that. Not if we can get out of here unseen." She began to leave with Sasuke, but stopped and looked at Yuki with pleading eyes. "Please… don't let them get to my mom…if it does come down to that…"

"Of course, Sakura-san. I'll protect her with my life." 

Sakura smiled again. "It won't come to that, I promise." Yuki nodded and Sakura followed Sasuke towards the door. He stopped her with his hand on her stomach and then grabbed her arm, running out of the hospital and onto the tops of the buildings. 

s-S-s

Naruto and Ino burst through the hospital doors, big smiles on their faces. Naruto walked over to the front desk. "Naruto-kun! Ino-senpai!" Yuki exclaimed. 

"Hi, Yuki. Where is Sakura-chan?" Ino asked quietly. 

"She just left, to the Hokage tower with Sasuke-san. There were ANBU after them." She explained. 

Naruto cursed, "Damnit! Danzo already knows!" 

Ino grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him out of the hospital. "Shikamaru is there!" She urged, running faster. "We need to go now, Danzo is there already." 

"How do you know?" Naruto asked, a dumb look on his face as he allowed himself to be dragged. 

"My god, Naruto. Are you that dense! Look at the tower! Tsunade is fighting, obviously." She yelled, exasperated. 

Sure enough, when Naruto looked, he could see a person in black dodging Tsunade's deadly punches on the top of the building. It looked as if part of the tower had been blown up, but as Naruto knew from experience, was actually Tsunade. 

"Ok, lets hurry then." Naruto stated, stopping in his tracks. 

"Naruto!" Ino shrieked, stopping. "Get moving! We need to get there!"

Naruto groaned. 'Damn women… they're all so loud.' He thought, forming hand seals and thrusting it onto the top of the building they were on. "Summoning Jutsu!" 

Ino blinked. "Summoning?" When the dust cleared, Naruto stood over a small toad. 

"Yo!" It said happily, holding up a flipper. 

"Oh my! It – it _talked_!" Ino gasped. 

"Gamakichi, I need you to go to the others and bring them to the Hokage tower. We may need their help." Naruto ordered. 

"Sure thing, squirt!" 

Naruto nodded and _ignored_ being called 'squirt'. He turned to Ino and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the tower. "You wanted to go. So come on!" 

"Don't order _me_ around, Naruto." Ino growled, forcing his hand on her arm off, and running beside him. Within minutes, they arrived to see Sasuke and Sakura surrounded by ANBU root. Tsunade and Jiraiya were fighting Danzo and someone else. 

Naruto squinted to see better and gasped. "S – Sai!" There he was, a single scar on his neck, fighting with Jiraiya. Naruto looked at Sakura who was now standing still, her body shaking, staring up at Sai. 

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, catching his attention. 

He looked behind him and saw Sakura. He was confused for a moment, but then followed her gaze and growled. "Sai… Sakura, come on; just ignore him. He won't do anything, I promise." He whispered, jumping out of the way with her as a root ninja made the first move. That seemed to snap her back into reality.

"How… how is he alive! I – I killed him! Sasuke-kun?" She asked frantically.

Sasuke shook his head, "I don't know." 

"Forehead!"

Sakura turned around, ready to pound whoever called her that, but stopped and smiled. "Ino-pig!" She yelled back, running and meeting her best friend in a hug. "You know, Ino, this isn't the time or place." She laughed, keeping a close eye on the root children. 

"I know. I'm just so happy that you're back and ok!" She said, hugging Sakura tightly one last time before letting go. She looked around. "Wh – where's Shikamaru?" 

Sakura looked away, her eyes downcast. "He's in Tsunade-sama's office… he took a bad hit, but I healed him. He's still unconscious." She said quietly, grasping Ino's hand.

Ino shook her head, and pushed away from Sakura, running to the door that led to Tsunade's office, mumbling 'no' over and over. 'Shikamaru! You better be ok!' She thought to herself, bolting through the tower. 

When she finally reached Tsunade's office, she barged through the door. "Shika!" She screamed, seeing him lying on his back in the corner of the room. She ran over to him, stopping just before his body. His vest was stained with blood and Ino's breath caught in her throat. 

Her hands hesitantly reached out for him, stopping just before she touched his shoulder, she pulled back, her vision blurring. "Shika…" She whispered, hastily wiping away her tears before reaching out and taking his hand in hers. 

She sniffed and lifted him so he was leaning against her, his head in the crook of her neck. Her hands were becoming red from his blood. She held him tightly, ignoring the rumbling of the building, and small pieces falling from the ceiling. "Shi – Shikamaru… wake up! Please…" She whispered, holding him even tighter, as if he were her lifeline. 

"I – Ino… I can't breathe properly…" 

She gasped and lessened her grip, looking down at his tired eyes. She smiled and hugged him, crying into his shoulder. "Don't do that to me again… baka…" She cried. 

Shikamaru was shocked to say the least; Ino never cried over him, and now her tears were soaking his neck. He raised a hand to his side to find the wound he received from Sai healed. He remembered vaguely Sakura crying out and healing him, but the pain had been too great for him to stand. 

"You're ok now, right?" Ino asked quietly, sniffling. 

Shikamaru nodded mutely, looking at her crying face when she released him. "Ino… what's gotten into you?" He asked quietly, lifting himself off of her, supporting himself with his arms. 

Looking away Ino didn't say anything. Shikamaru knew she was thinking though, she usually answered a question without thought, but now she didn't. His only explanation was that she didn't know herself. 

He looked back at her when she turned to him, a sad smile on her face. "I… I don't know… I just got so scared, so afraid that you were dead when I saw you… Shika… I think I… I…" She shook her head, "I don't care about Sasuke… I care about you…"

'What did she just say?' Shikamaru thought. "Ino?" He asked quietly. 

Without warning, Ino wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly again. "I don't want… I don't want you to leave me… ever. I think I… love you." She whispered, her voice cracking.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something, but no words were forming. It was as if his brain had turned to mush. Instead of saying anything, knowing he couldn't, even if he wanted to, he hugged her back. He felt her stiffen at his move, but giggled lightly. 

She pulled away, looking into his dark, lazy eyes. He stared right back, and before they knew it, Shikamaru had leaned in and caught her lips in a sweat, gentle kiss, his hands rubbing her back as she placed a hand on his cheek, kissing him back.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait, school has been hectic...**

**I hope you all liked it! And I decided to make it shikaino as well. Though, it will still be mostly sasusaku. I just had a sudden inspiration for some shikaino fluff! XD**

**REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_Sasuke pulled Sakura through the buildings, hurrying to the Hokage tower. He looked behind him and frowned. There were two ANBU root on their trail and Sakura was hardly keeping up._

_Stopping abruptly, he pulled Sakura behind him and threw a couple of kunai at the root; they just deflected them and kept running head-on towards them. _

"_Surrender, and the kunoichi won't die, Uchiha Sasuke." One of them said, stopping a mere three feet away._

"_You will be brought into custody, Uchiha. For betrayal and searching out Orochimaru, enemy to the village Hidden in the Leaves." The other said. _

"_Sakura, don't move, ok." Sasuke whispered, "Follow my lead."_

_She nodded mutely, keeping a keen eye on the two root members. _

"_What does Danzo want?" He asked. _

"_He wants the kunoichi dead."_

_Sasuke frowned. He felt Sakura stiffen behind him. 'They contradicted themselves.' "Why?"_

"_We are not entitled to answer that." The taller one spoke, his voice never wavering, his face never changing expressions. "We will not warn you again. Surrender the kunoichi and come quietly."_

_Sasuke smirked. "You expect me to listen to you?" He asked mockingly, rushing forward at the two, disappearing and reappearing behind them, knocking them out. He ran up to Sakura, and took her arm, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. _

_Sakura gasped and fell to her knees. She looked around and noticed that they were in front of the Hokage tower. "Sakura?" _

_Looking behind her, she saw Shikamaru making his way over to them, hands in his pockets, slouching. "What are you doing here?" He asked, "Where are Naruto and Ino?"_

"_Eh? Shikamaru!" Sakura said excitedly, rushing up to him and hugging him. "What are you talking about?" She asked after she released him._

"_Naruto and Ino went to the hospital to see you and Sasuke." He said calmly, walking again, toward the doors where Sasuke stood waiting. _

_Sakura frowned. "Oh… well, we left before they got there I guess… ANBU root already know that Sasuke and I are back…"_

"_What?!" _

_Sakura nodded. "Yeah… they found us in the hospital and we were just attacked again before Sasuke transported us here… They want me dead for reasons unknown."_

"_Ok, lets go then." Shikamaru ushered, pushing Sakura inside and shutting the door. "You two need to stay in hiding, for now. Especially you, Sakura." Shikamaru shot a meaningful look at Sasuke, who nodded in return. _

"_Lets just go." Sasuke muttered, walking ahead of them. _

"_So how are you, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked. "What's up with you and Temari? Anything happen while I was gone?" She smirked, raising an eyebrow._

"_Troublesome women." He muttered, averting his gaze. _

"_Ooh, so something did happen? Was it Temari, Shika?" Sakura pressed, noticing his cursing to all women in general. _

_He shook his head. "No."_

'_God what is with him? I'm getting nothing out of him!' Sakura cursed to herself. 'Something's happened though…' She sighed. "Nara Shikamaru, I am not retarded. What happened?" _

"_Fine, what a drag, it was Ino." He gave in, much to Sakura's liking. _

_Sakura squealed slightly, causing Sasuke to look back slightly in irritation. "Oh! What happened?" She asked excitedly, taking a hold of his upper arm. _

"_Nothing. She just confused me. I don't know what to think anymore."_

"_What's confusing you?" Sakura asked, confused herself._

_He shook his head, dismissing the subject, as they had reached the door, which was open slightly. Sasuke gestured for them to wait outside, as there were muffled voices coming from inside. Sakura froze and grabbed onto Sasuke's black shirt, placing a death grip on it from anger. _

"_Danzo…" She hissed. _

"_Wait here." Shikamaru muttered, pushing the door open casually. He stepped in and bowed. "Hokage-sama, you wished to see me?" He asked lazily. _

_The next thing Sakura and Sasuke heard was a crash and a yell of pain. _

"_Shikamaru!" Sakura screamed, running into the office. "No!" She yelled, rushing to the heap that was Shikamaru in the corner of the room, bleeding from his side. "Sasuke-kun! I need your help!" _

_Sasuke had followed right after her, his sharingan activated, comma's spinning in his irises. "Damnit!" He cursed under his breath, sensing three signatures atop the building, a fourth joining them not soon after. He rushed to Sakura's side, kneeling on Shikamaru's other side._

"_Put pressure on his wound…" She muttered, removing her hands and forming hand seals, focussing her chakra. "Not much left…" She muttered to herself. "I'll have to work fast… Ok, Sasuke-kun, remove your hands." She said, opening her eyes and placing her hands above the wound once Sasuke had moved his now bloodied hands. _

_Shikamaru groaned in pain when the parted flesh began to mould together. Sakura closed her eyes in concentration, her brows furrowed as she poured all of her chakra into his wound. "It's deep…" She muttered. "I won't have enough…"_

_Sasuke watched her struggle. He felt… hopeless, angry, tense that he couldn't do anything to help. His teammate was using the last of her chakra to heal her friend, and he didn't know what else to do except watch. "I won't have enough…" She had muttered in despair. _

'_That's it…' Sasuke thought. "Sakura, take some of mine…" He told her, looking at her face for her reaction._

_She nodded, not opening her eyes. "Please… place your hands on mine…" He did as told, and his and Sakura's hair flew around their face from the strength of Sakura's jutsu. She smiled and opened her eyes, watching the wound heal faster. "Your chakra…" She started in a weak voice, looking up at him in awe. "It's so strong…" _

_Sasuke looked away, as if embarrassed. _

"_Sasuke-kun…" She mumbled, looking at Shikamaru's wound, which was over half way healed. "Tell me… what did Orochimaru do for your chakra to get this strong… even Tsunade-sama's medical jutsu doesn't have this much power." _

"_Orochimaru didn't do anything…" He said. "It was all me." _

"_But… how?" She asked in a hushed whisper._

"_I don't know… I did lots of things. Meditate, chakra control… my sharingan enhances it. I guess his training helped." He said, looking away, not allowing her to look at his red eyes. _

_She nodded, extinguishing the jutsu as Shikamaru was healed fully. The warmth of Sasuke's sinister chakra pulsing through her left her body. She felt drained, weak, and cold. His chakra was so over powering that it left her whole body chilled, her hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. But then… there was something about it that was comforting. Perhaps it was the shear power it held… the power gave her a sense of protection. _

"_Thank you." She said finally, her eyes slightly closed in exhaustion._

"_You're exhausted…" Sasuke stated. "Are you able to take some of my chakra for yourself?"_

_Surprise overtaking her, Sakura looked up at Sasuke with confused eyes. 'Why does he care all of a sudden? He wouldn't even spare me a glance if we were still Genin…' "Uhm… n – no. Only for that jutsu… can I do it. I only know how to do it in theory but… it's never been done." She murmured._

"_You stay here then. Look after Nara. I'll go help Tsunade…" Sasuke ordered, standing up and going towards the hole in the side of the room. _

"_No, I'm coming, Sasuke. You can't expect me to just stay here?!" Sakura yelled, standing up shakily but regaining her balance and walking over to Sasuke. "I can help." _

"_What can you expect to do, Sakura?" He asked bitterly. "You have no chakra. And you can't take mine."_

_Sakura looked down, fidgeting with her hands. "I could try… I have an idea. It's what Tsunade-sama and I have been working on…" _

"_Then do it." Sasuke stated, turning around and placing his hand on the hilt of hit katana. His sharingan eyes bore into her, making her uncomfortable. 'They're so cold… emotionless…' She thought looking away. _

"_O – ok." She whispered in a small voice. She walked over to him, careful not to look into his eyes. "I – I don't know if it'll work…" She murmured placing her hands on his chest. A blush covered her face as she closed her eyes tightly. _

'_Ok… focus what little chakra is left…' She thought through the steps and performing them, 'And force it into the body's chakra network… pull your chakra back into your body before exhaustion sets in…' She did so and almost lost it, but remained focussed enough so that she was able to keep control of her chakra. 'And grasp the other chakra… pulling it into your body.' _

_Immediately, she felt the cold chill of Sasuke's chakra in her chakra network. She shivered but felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and calm. Removing her hands from his chest, she stumbled backwards, shivering uncontrollably. "I – it worked!" She stuttered, wrapping her arms around herself. _

_Sasuke eyed her oddly. "Are you ok?" He asked, stepping over towards her. _

"_I'm… fine." She mumbled, still in awe that she was the first to be ably to pull someone else's chakra into her body. "I can't believe it worked… I feel… so warm…" _

"_Do you have enough chakra now, then?" Sasuke asked. _

"_Yes, lets go…" She agreed, walking past him and looking up through the hole in the building, hearing voices being carried through the wind. She felt a sense of superiority, feeling Sasuke's power flowing through her body. _

_Sasuke stepped beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Sasuke-kun, what?" Sakura started, but stopped mid-sentence and wrapped her arms around his neck in surprise. Snakes had come out of his sleeve and wrapped around one of the poles on the top of the building, this was used to bring them up to the top. He landed softly, and let go of her immediately. _

"_Oh my…" Sakura gasped. A bunch of ANBU root surrounded them, keeping them where they were. _

"_Hand over the kunoichi." They all said at once. Sakura heard the sound of Sasuke's katana unsheathing, and she looked at him, eyes widening when the sound of chidori started, without any hand seals, and spread all over his body, to the tip of his sword. _

_The sound of Naruto's voice broke her thoughts. "S – Sai?!" _

_Her whole body froze as she turned her gaze to where Tsunade was fighting. And there he was, fighting along side Danzo, against Jiraiya. _

s-S-s

Sakura stared after Ino as she hurriedly made her way through the battle. "Ino…" She whispered sadly. She was forced to pay attention as one of the root members had made a move towards her, attempting to take her life. Clenching her fist, her, well, Sasuke's chakra surrounded it, creating a lethal weapon.

Smirking at the root man, she dodged under his katana and punched him in the stomach, sending him flying off of the building. 'If they're not children, it's ok to hurt them.' She thought, eying the remaining root. Among them were young boys, not even the age to be out of the academy, and men as old as her former sensei.

"Sakura!"

"What?" She said to herself, looking to her left, seeing all of her friends there. It was Kiba that called out to her, riding atop Akamaru. He landed beside her and Akamaru wined softly, nuzzling his nose to her neck, licking her face afterwards. "Hi Akamaru." She whispered, stroking the dog's head. She looked up at Kiba who was grinning down at her. "Hi Kiba."

He ruffled her hair, laughing. "You seem down, Sakura. I thought you'd be happy to see me!"

She looked up to where Sai was and closed her eyes. "I am… but Sai is alive! I – I don't understand…" She whispered again, looking behind Kiba and smiling at the rest of her friends that had already started to fight the root members.

Akamaru sniffed the air and growled. "What did you just say?!" Kiba yelled. "Damnit!"

Sakura stared up at him. "What, what is it?"

"It's not Sai… It looks like him, it's the same jutsu's… but it's not him." Kiba growled, getting off of Akamaru. He looked at Sasuke who had walked up to him.

"Who is it?" Sasuke asked.

Kiba shook his head, sniffing the air slightly. "I don't know…"

"I'm surprised you haven't sensed me, Sasuke-kun." A voice hissed from below them.

Sakura froze and found she couldn't breathe. "O – Orochimaru?" She gasped, looking down to the cemented ground. Kiba did the same and growled, looked below, seeing Kabuto's face appear out of the ground, his one snake-like eye staring at them sadistically.

"K – Kabuto?" Sakura asked. "What's going on?" She then gasped. "You're… both of them?!"

A whole different laughter reached their ears. "So you've figured it out, have you?" Kabuto asked.

"She always was the smartest, wasn't she? Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru's teasing voice asked.

"What the hell?" Sasuke muttered, stepping back, pulling Sakura with him. Kiba backed up, his hand on Akamaru's side.

"So, he's taken over some of your body, huh?" Kiba asked. He received no answer; Kabuto just continued to stare at Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered, grasping his arm tightly.

"What is it?" He asked quietly, watching Kabuto's movements with his sharingan. His eyes narrowed when he made a move towards him and Sakura, walking slowly.

"She's scared, can't you tell?" Kabuto asked. "She's still useless just like when you were with Naruto and Jiraiya looking for Sasuke. Remember that, Sakura? Naruto was severely injured because of you. Because you were too weak." He continued making his way towards her, his voice changing to Orochimaru's. "You thought Sasuke-kun was dead, so you almost allowed yourself to die. Pretty courageous for a weak little kunoichi. I almost succeeded, too, did you know that, Sasuke-kun. She's doing the same thing now, shaking in fear."

Sasuke listened with hatred and he did feel Sakura shaking next to him. He glared at him, pulling Sakura back with him. "Shut up." He warned.

"You can't do anything, can you? Even though you trained with Tsunade for three years, you still had to be saved because you were too weak. You had to rely on Sasuke-kun the whole time you were with him when he saved you. You were a burden."

_Burden._ Those words echoed in her head, over and over again. "N – no…" She whispered shakily, suppressing the tears that threatened to fall.

"He hated every minute of it, having to look after you again. Just like when you were Genin. You were always being saved, always in the way. You are no different."

"St – stop it…"

"Isn't that right, Sasuke-kun? You hated her with all of your being. But, you didn't take no for an answer, did you, Sakura? You begged, _pleaded_ him to stay; confessed your love for him. He knocked you out… leaving you on a bench."

Tears escaped from her eyes, as everything around her became nothing; only Orochimaru's voice rang through her head. 'He's right… I am weak… nothing but a burden… Sasuke-kun would never love me… I am scared… what have I done all of these years… nothing.' She thought, not really comprehending anything, her thought jumbled.

"Sakura, don't listen to him." Sasuke's voice reached her ears, breaking through her confused mind.

"Sasuke-kun…" She whispered.

"It's not true…" He said again.

"It is…" She whispered again. "I'm weak… a burden…"

"No it's not true, don't listen to him, Sakura."

Sakura shook her head, her eyes closed tightly. "I'm no shinobi… all I do is hurt people around me…" She said again, more to herself. "Useless…"

"Sakura snap out of it."

"Well, I hit a soft spot, eh?" Kabuto asked. "All I did was talk to her. Look at her, all delusional."

"Damnit." Sasuke cursed, stepping it front of Sakura. "Kabuto, what are you doing?"

"Oh? Me? I'm just having some fun. Seeing if Danzo will take over at Hokage, watching Sai, oh, did I mention? I brought him back from the dead." Orochimaru answered.

"Sai… N – no…" Sakura muttered, her eyes wide open and dull.

"Sakura! Shikamaru's ok! He's awake!" Ino called, running into the battle, hand in hand with Shikamaru. She and Shikamaru looked around, seeing everyone fighting. Kiba was standing with Akamaru, building up his chakra. Sakura stood shaking behind Sasuke who was facing Kabuto. "Sakura? What's wrong with her?" She asked herself

Shikamaru sighed. "Come on." He said, pulling Ino with him towards Sakura.

"Forehead!" Ino called again. She gasped when she didn't even move or flinch. She hated when anyone called her that. "Shika, Shadow Possession Jutsu, now!"

"Right." Shikamaru replied, and trapped Kabuto.

"Sakura, snap out of it!" Ino yelled, running up and facing her, grabbing her by the shoulders. She shook her lightly. "Sakura!"

"I – Ino?" She asked.

"What the hell did you do to her, you bastard?!" Ino screamed at Kabuto.

"Oh, I did nothing, just told the truth. She's weak and useless, a burden, that's all." Kabuto's voice said.

"You what?!" Ino shrieked again. She turned to Sakura. "Sakura, you're not a burden." She whispered, hugging her. "You saved Shikamaru's life, is that what you call a burden?" She felt Sakura freeze within her embrace. "Sakura, snap out of it!" She yelled again.

Sakura brought up her trembling hands and formed a hand sign. "R – release!"

"Genjutsu?" Ino asked, but Sakura fell forwards into Ino, breathing heavily.

"Thank you, Ino…" Sakura gasped out. "You got me to – snap out of it."

"It was a genjutsu?"

Sakura nodded and swallowed, panting once again. "Y – yes."

"Sakura." Sasuke stated.

"What?" She asked breathlessly

"Welcome back." He stated, sending her a smirk. "It must have been Kabuto's jutsu. I know all of Orochimaru's."

"It's… fine. I never knew he was casting a genjutsu anyways…" Sakura answered, standing up straight and facing Kabuto. "How would you know all of that about me?" She asked angrily, striding past Sasuke and stopping right in front of him, staring into his cold, amused eyes.

He didn't answer her, his smirk just grew wider.

"Answer me! How did you know about that?!" She screamed.

He chuckled and Orochimaru's voice answered. "Oh, how did I know what? That your mother is in the hospital? That your father is battling the Akatsuki with his ANBU squad? That Uchiha Itachi is fighting him right now, and showing him yours and your mothers' deaths?"

Sakura froze. "What?" She asked quietly.

She gasped when Sasuke came next to her and grabbed Kabuto's throat, raising him off of the ground. "Where is he?!" He yelled.

Kabuto chuckled again, only to melt in Sasuke's hands as snakes. "Damnit!" Shikamaru muttered, standing up.

"Sasuke, where is he?" Sakura asked, looking around.

"Behind you…" Orochimaru hissed.

Sakura screamed when she suddenly collided with Sasuke. Her hands were in between them, resting on his chest. Sakura opened her eyes when she felt herself being pushed closer and groaned when it tightened even more. Multiple snakes encircled them, keeping them from moving. The snakes were thick and large, wrapping from their knees to Sakura's shoulders.

'Damn, how could he be so fast?' Sasuke asked himself, trying to loosen the hold the snakes had on him and Sakura. It only caused them to tighten their hold. "Shit." He cursed.

"I can't… breathe… Sasuke." Sakura gasped.

"Just don't struggle, they won't tighten their hold." Sasuke muttered, glaring up at Kabuto. Sasuke had it easy. Because he was taller, his lungs weren't being compressed as Sakura's were, so he could at least breathe. "Loosen it, she'll suffocate." He said.

He smirked and the snakes tightened their hold. Sakura clenched her fists and groaned. Sasuke cursed again, looking at Shikamaru for help. He nodded, and got into his thinking position. Ino began to step closer to help but the snakes tightened even more.

"Ino, don't come. They tighten if you come closer." Sasuke ordered, closing his eyes in pain, feeling his back crack in places. 'There is no time, Shikamaru…' He thought. "Sakura?"

"Y – yes?" She gasped. Her head was now resting on his shoulder and her legs gave way so he was holding her and himself upright.

"Can you start to heal yourself right now? I'm getting us out of here… I have to use Chidori…" Sasuke ground out. She felt her nod lightly and he felt the warmth of her healing chakra consuming her body, flickering weakly. 'She won't have much chakra left. She didn't take much of mine…' He thought, starting up the jutsu in his hand and spreading it throughout the rest of his body, keeping it at a low charge.

Sakura suppressed screaming, not that she'd have enough breath to do so, when Sasuke started his jutsu. She knew it wasn't at its full frequency when it began charging through her body.

"I'm… sorry." Sasuke muttered before letting it all lose, disintegrating the snakes. Sakura screamed quietly, and felt her whole body become numb. She couldn't even feel Sasuke wrap his arms around her to keep her from falling or when Kiba came up to him and took her from him.

"Sakura, it's alright, just breathe. Shino!" Kiba called. "We need your bugs! Ino, medical nin-jutsu."

"Right!" Ino said and healed the bruises on her arms and legs. Shino cam up and asked him what Kiba needed.

"Well, I figured your bugs could get rid of the electrical current." Kiba answered.

Shino shook his head. "No. My bugs only eat chakra. I can't do anything for her." He answered. "She'll be fine in a couple of minutes."

"Ugh…" Sakura groaned. She gasped and sat up quickly. Akamaru whined and licked her arm as she had been lying against him. "Oh…" She said surprised and smiled at the big dog. Hinata, Ino, and Tenten sat next to her, watching the fight between Sasuke and Kabuto. Kiba and Shino were helping where they found an opening to get a hit in.

Naruto had taken over for Jiraiya and was fighting Sai, giving him a verbal beating while at it. And Tsunade had Danzo cornered, her hand around his neck, asking him questions with Jiraiya at her side. The others were standing around, ready to help if anyone needed it.

* * *

**Ok! I finished chapter 8! Enjoy! Sorry for any spelling errors..**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

--Chapter 9--

* * *

"Sai! Answer me!" Naruto snarled, waving his fist in the air, exasperated. And again, he received no answer. "What's wrong with you? You read books about feelings," He yelled, trying to trip the traitor with a kick, "you train with us," he said between punches, "and you even started to get better!" He yelled again, landing a hit on his stomach.

Sai tripped back a couple of feet, saying nothing to the angry boy. His emotionless eyes stared questionably at him, almost as if he didn't know what he was talking about.

"Sai!" Naruto screamed, running at him and attempting to punch him again. Sai effortlessly jumped out of the way, landing a couple of feet away. "Why did you do it, Huh?! You almost killed her! That fat ass took advantage of her! Why would you put her through that?… Sai?!"

And for the first time Sai spoke. "I did it because she loves the Uchiha."

Naruto froze, his eyes wide with confusion and realisation. "Wh – what? What did you say?"

"She loved Uchiha Sasuke. I read books on love and, according to the books, I love her. I was meant to be with her. Our astral signs are compatible while hers and the Uchiha's are not. (AN: I don't know if they are, it just works, ok?) She was supposed to be with me, and she wasn't, so I took matters into my own hands." Sai explained simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"By betraying her?!" Naruto asked incredulously, his eyes becoming blood red, his hair standing on end threateningly.

Sai nodded. "Yes. Danzo said if the one you love doesn't feel the same way, you have to kill them."

"What?" Naruto hissed, clenching his hands as his nails grew.

"Kill them so they can't love anyone else." Sai finished.

"You bastard!" Naruto screamed and charged on all fours, the first tail of the fox shroud quickly forming.

s-S-s

Sakura stared in horror as Naruto started transforming. Another tail formed and then another… until there was four. _"I did it because she loves the Uchiha… I love her… you have to kill them…" _Sai's words echoed through the air all around her. Ino, Hinata and Tenten were frozen to the spot after hearing those words.

"S – Sakura…" Ino muttered, staring at Naruto. "Wh… what's wrong with him?"

Sakura shook her head. "N – no, not again. Naruto…"

"Sakura-san… what's happening to Naruto-kun?" Hinata's shaky voice asked her in a whisper.

"Sakura, he's lost it hasn't he?" Neji asked, walking up to her. She nodded numbly.

"H – he… we need Yamato-taichou…" She whispered, her voice cracking. "But he's on a mission… wait!" Her head snapped towards Sasuke and his battle. She remembered reading of the sharingan: 'a sharingan with all three comma surrounding the pupil has the ability to place someone under a genjutsu. Also, it can allow the user to enter the mind. This allows the user to seal powers or to cause havoc…'

'Sasuke-kun can suppress the Kyuubi's chakra with the sealing!' Sakura thought to herself. 'Then I'll take Sai on while he is…'

"Sasuke-kun!" She yelled, running to him, a determined and stern look on her face. "Shino, Kiba! Take over!" She called to them. Sasuke jumped back using his chakra.

"I need to stop Naruto." He stated, looking over at him and frowning. "Is that… the Kyuubi's chakra?"

Sakura nodded. "Your sharingan can suppress it. You can seal the Kyuubi's chakra away again, freeing Naruto."

"Alright." He stated, "But who is going to take Sai?"

"Me." Sakura stated firmly, clenching her fists. She smiled darkly, "So you love me, eh, Sai? I'll show you how wrong you are."

s-S-s

"Sai!" Naruto roared, another tail forming. Now, there were three. His voice was amplified from the demon's chakra so that his yell sounded like a full-blown roar.

Sakura was forced to stop and cover her ears, closing her eyes tightly; she saw Sasuke did the same. "Damnit, Naruto." Sasuke muttered, grabbing Sakura's arm, pulling her with him. "Sakura, get in front of Naruto and start fighting Sai, I'll distract him and suppress the Kyuubi."

"Got it." She said firmly. She noticed Sasuke slowed and looked at her.

"Do you have enough chakra, Sakura?" He asked quietly.

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she looked away. It was true; she was really low on chakra. She hadn't taken much from Sasuke. With the little chakra she had taken, she healed Shikamaru, and had to keep a flow through her body so she wouldn't be critically injured from Sasuke's Chidori. To say the least, she was running on her last strings. Her thoughts were stopped when Sasuke stopped. He grasped her shoulders and she looked up at him, confused at his actions.

"Sakura, he'll beat you if you are this low on chakra. I can see your chakra with my sharingan," He said, his red eyes looking at her, "you don't have enough. Take some of mine. I have enough for both of us."

Sakura was baffled. She hadn't heard Sasuke say that much in one sentence for a long time. She opened her mouth to say something, but shut it and nodded slowly. Sasuke let go of her arms and stood in front of her, deactivating his sharingan so it would be easier for her.

She performed the same procedure she did the last time, but hesitated before she began. She was afraid, afraid of feeling Sasuke's sinister chakra again. It wasn't the Sasuke she remembered… still, it was comforting.

Once she finished, taking a good sum of Sasuke's chakra, she pulled away, her arms exhibiting goose bumps, even though it was very humid. "Let's go." She said, her voice no longer tired.

Without word, they headed for Naruto, the fox shroud now making a menacing wind blow around the Hokage mansion, the Kyuubi's chakra mixed with it. "Ok, now!" Sakura called to Sasuke, using her chakra and engaging with Sai, while Sasuke landed in front of Naruto, his sharingan spinning rapidly.

Almost immediately, Naruto froze. He and Sasuke, seeming like they were staring at each other, stood still. The tails protruding from the shroud began to recede, one by one.

"Naruto you need to stop, gain control." Sasuke spoke within Naruto's mind, standing in front of the fox's gate, where Naruto was, surrounded by orange bubbles. They were covering him bit by bit. Slowly, Naruto turned.

"_Get out of my head, Sasuke." He said. _

_Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You're not Naruto… Kyuubi." _

_Naruto's conscience smiled and the Kyuubi's head formed from the orange bubbles. "You're an Uchiha." _

"_You know of my clan?" _

_The giant head nodded. "Uchiha Madara. Your eyes are like his were."_

_Sasuke smirked and reappeared in front of the bubbling mass. His sharingan spinning madly, the orange bubbles began to recede back into the gate. "I don't know who that is." Sasuke snarled and the Kyuubi vanished altogether, leaving Naruto lying down, unmoving. _

Sasuke watched as Naruto fell to the ground, coughing and healing slowly. Sasuke mentally winced when he saw the tanned colour of Naruto's skin re-growing.

s-S-s

"Sai, you're mine!" Sakura yelled, bringing her fist down on Sai. She narrowly missed, grazing his shoulder as she caught him by surprise. It was rendered useless.

"I'll kill you this time, Sai." She growled, taking out two kunai and attacking him head on. She knew he wasn't the greatest at hand-to-hand combat, as he was a long-range fighter with his ink monsters.

"Sakura." He stated simply, his face betraying no emotion.

"What's wrong with you? You _love me_?!" She practically screeched in anger as she attacked him ruthlessly. She was getting hits in, but no blood came out of his body. "Wh – what are you?" She asked.

He didn't answer, but attacked her instead.

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she blocked his attack. "You forget, Sai, I know all of your moves. You won't beat me!" She was about to toss kunai at him when he jumped out of the way and landed behind her. She turned and gasped. "Y – you don't know any ninjutsu. Who are you?!"

"I'm Sai, Sakura." He said monotonously, performing a series of rapid hand signs. "Kanashibari no jutsu."

Sakura froze in an instant. Her death played right before her eyes. 'This is… This is Orochimaru's technique…' She thought, falling to her knees, trembling head to foot. Her shaking arms wrapped around her body and she leaned forward, her eyes wide and fearful. She was vaguely aware of her friends calling out to her.

"Kanashibari no jutsu." She heard Sai say again.

And then, she relived another death experience. "N – no… stop it." She whispered.

"Kanashibari no jutsu."

"P – please…" She trembled and her voice shook with her body. "S – sai… you're n – not Sai… please… w – wake up – p."

"Kanashibari no jutsu."

Another, this time, she saw her and everyone she cared about.

Her mind couldn't handle it again, and it protected itself. She found herself fading. 'I couldn't… beat him… I'm still… _weak_…' Was her last thought and all she could hear as she passed out was her voice mixed with Sasuke's echoing 'weak' over and over.

s-S-s

"Neji!" Tenten ordered, getting up from her kneeling position and running to Sakura. "You get Sai."

"Right."

Tenten came to a stop next to Sakura's unmoving body. She looked her over quickly, checking for blood or any obvious injuries. Finding none, she lifted Sakura's arm over her shoulder and moved away from the battle. Sasuke followed Tenten, supporting Naruto, to check Sakura. He heard Sai use the same jutsu on her multiple times, the one Orochimaru used on him and Sakura during the Chuunin exams.

"What happened to her?" He asked, setting Naruto down next to Hinata, who was frantically checking him over. He walked to Tenten and helped to lower her down, his eyes sweeping her body for injuries.

Tenten watched him fret over Sakura with amusement in her eyes. He looked at her, annoyed. "What?" He snapped, standing up.

"I don't remember you being so caring towards your teammates before you left the village, Uchiha. It's a change for you, it's… nice. She just fainted." She said, smiling.

"Tch." Turning away from Sakura and Tenten, he looked at where Tsunade was, still questioning Danzo. It looked as though she was getting nothing out of him. 'They are getting no where.' He thought angrily, and decided to take matters into his own hands.

Making his way over to the three, he activated his sharingan. "Sasuke? What are you doing?" Tsunade snapped, her face furious.

"You're getting nowhere with him." He said simply. "What do you want to know?"

"What the hell his plans are!" She yelled angrily, turning to Danzo. "Why he had Sai kidnap Sakura, why – just EVERYTHING!"

"Let me." Sasuke said angrily, images of the girl flooding his mind. He, too, wanted to know. Shouts of victory could be heard from Kiba on the other side of the roof. He took Tsunade's place.

"Kabuto is dead." He heard Jiraiya mutter. "Sai is down, Tsunade. The Hyuuga boy killed him. It's just this one left."

He tuned them out. "Answer the questions." Sasuke snarled.

Danzo laughed. "No, boy. Konoha will fall, if I live or die, it is inevitable."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly as I said. Konoha will fall."

"Who will be doing it?"

"Akatsuki." He laughed, as if it were the obvious thing in the world.

"But why Orochimaru?"

"I promised him a spot in the counsil. He's very greedy, he'd do anything even if he got something little in return. But it doesn't matter. He failed."

"Why did you make Sai hurt his teammate?" Danzo was silent, a maniacle grin etched on his weathered face. "Answwer the question." Still no answer. This time, Sasuke smirked. "You're in my world. I can make anything happen."

"Try me."

And that's what Sasuke did. All around the roof, the shinobi could hear the old man's screams of terror. When Sasuke was finished, Danzo was weak and panting. "I learned more than just jutsu training with Orochimaru. Now answer the question."

"To get to Tsunade." He said. "Get to her, and she will think unclearly. But one girl wouldn't have been enough. Her assistant is walking around, dying as we speak."

"What else? Does Sakura's mother have anything to do with this?" Sasuke asked, remembering the sweetness of her mother, the kindness she showed him.

Danzo kept his mouth shut again. Sasuke felt his anger building and looked to Tsunade, "any more questions?" He asked through clenched teeth.

Tsunade shook her head. "The only one I have left is the one you just asked."

"Answer the question." He snarled, pushing onto his neck with his forearm, choking him. Danzo's eyes widened as he gasped for air. Yet he stayed quiet. Sasuke smirked maniacly. "Oh come on, you answered all of the other ones, why could this one be so different?" Sasuke was furious, totally unlike himself, he didn't fully understand why the thought of this man poisoning Ami Haruno angered him so.

"Y – yes. We poisoned her. Sai." He answered finally, his voice coming out as a gurgle.

That was all Sasuke wanted and needed to know. Sharingan flaring, he charged Chidori through his body and waited until Danzo was dead, almost enjoying the screams of pain. He dropped him to the ground and stepped away from the smoking body.

"Nicely done, Uchiha." Jiraiya complimented. He then turned to Tsunade, "Enstate him to the interrogation untis." She nodded and hurried to the hospital, where Shizune was still working. Sakura was already awake, watching Sasuke intently.

Sasuke looked away from her, ashamed. He lost control. His anger had always gotten out of control while with Orochimaru, and he never had to control it. It seemed normal to him then, but now in Konoha, he was now going to make sure he never did it again. He looked up to the darkening sky, the sun setting in the distance. 'I'm here to stay.' He thought firmly to himself, feeling secure for the first time since he left Konoha all those years ago. 'I can kill Itachi if I stay here, nothing here will stop me.' He smirked. 'If anything, I'll have help.'

* * *

**Ok, chapter 9. I'll have the next one out soon!!  
This was the last chapter of this... part of the story. The next chapter will be like, a few days later type of thing.  
Review and tell me what you thiiiink!! **

**Sorry for grammar errors, my word is being weird again.. it keeps saying I don't have spell check when I try it, so it's all me editing it. If something REALLY doesn't make sense, tell me!**


	10. Chapter 10

**--Chapter 10--**

"Hi mom!" Sakura said cheerfully, walking into the hospital room. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, honey." She replied from the bed. "A little tired, but that's it."

"I have good news, mom. Sasuke-kun agreed to go with me to get the herbs for the antidote. He also confirmed that the poison was part of Danzo's plan. He also… he's giving me the money for it." Sakura spoke, sitting next to her mothers' bed in the chair.

"Why would he do that?" Mrs Haruno asked loudly.

Sakura smiled. "He said you remind him of his mother before she was killed."

"Oh my… where is he now?" She asked, smiling and winking.

"I don't know, mom! Would you stop with that? We're just teammates. That's it."

"Oh? You're not friends then?" She asked slyly.

"No. He's not like that, mom. He's still the same as he was three years ago. Until he's done what he needs to do, he won't let anyone get close." Sakura admitted sadly.

"And that would be?"

"Killing the one who killed his family; his whole clan. His brother." Sakura muttered.

Mrs Haruno stayed silent. "Something feels wrong." She admitted. "Your father. He said he would be home yesterday… he's not home yet."

"He's not?" Sakura asked, clenching her fists. "Damnit!" Running out of the hospital, she didn't stop until she was at the Hokage mansion, still under repairs. The fight that happened three days ago almost destroyed it. She passed Sasuke in the halls, but didn't look back. Slamming open the door to Tsunade's office, she rested her hand on the doorframe and panted. "Where's my dad?" She asked directly, her voice cracking. "He should be back!"

"Sakura, calm down." Tsunade ordered softly, immediately getting up and walking up to her. "His team was ambushed by the Akatsuki. There were three fatalities, but your father wasn't one of them. He is severely injured, however, and the team is doing all they can to keep him alive."

"Let me go meet them! I can't let him die! Please." Sakura pleaded. Sasuke walked in behind her.

Tsunade smiled. "That's what Team Seven's mission is as of now. Sasuke was sent to get you, but looks like you got here on your own. Kakashi is getting Naruto."

"Naruto? Tsunade-sama, he can't come. This is the Akatsuki! They'll take him!" Sakura pleaded.

"Don't worry about me, Sakura-chan." Naruto said walking in. 'Of course. He comes in at this moment.' Sakura thought sarcastically. "I can handle myself. Believe it!"

Sakura shook her head. "Naruto, you'll never change." She stated, laughing quietly, Naruto along with her, scratching the back of his head.

"Ok, your father was sent to the Hidden Rock. It's about two days away. The team knows you are coming so they are keeping him stable until you arrive, Sakura." Tsunade explained. She walked behind her desk and took out a traveling pack, passing it to Sakura. "Here, I took the liberty of having Shizune prepare it for you. It has everything you need."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you. Will you tell my mom I'm on a mission?" Tsunade nodded and Sakura left without another word, Sasuke right behind her, his bag already ready, as was Naruto and Kakashi's.

s-S-s

"Ok, let's go." Sakura said as they left the gates. She immediately took off into the trees. Having studied the map before they left, she knew exactly where her dad was. Kakashi and Sasuke were looking at it now, just so they could remember where they were going.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto started, "are you sure you're feeling ok?"

"I'm fine, Naruto." She smiled. For the past three days Naruto has asked her, at least twice a day, if she was all right. Her capture had really scared him she came to realise.

"I'm just making sure." He muttered, keeping up with her. She really was setting them at a fast pace.

"Sakura, slow down." Kakashi called.

"Why?" She asked angrily. "My dad is out there! He needs my help and I'm not going to wait for you guys if you want to slow down."

"Sakura, it'll take us three days to get there." Sasuke put in, thinking she'd at least listen to him. "And the Akatsuki could be around. We need to save our strength."

Scoffing, and irritated beyond comprehension, she slowed, matching Kakashi and Sasuke's pace. 'They don't understand. My mom is dying, and so is my dad. They need my help!' She thought angrily, a scowl permanently on her face.

"Sakura I know you're worried, but tiring ourselves won't help your dad. What if when you get there you don't have enough chakra to heal him?" Kakashi asked her.

"I know that!" She retorted. "It's just hard, ok? Both my parents are in trouble."

"He'll be fine. We'll get there in time, believe it!" Naruto shouted, pumping his fist in the air and flipping on to the next branch. Sakura couldn't help but smile and nod, trust Naruto to brighten the mood.

s-S-s

"Ok, we'll set up camp here." Kakashi announced, landing in a small clearing, obscured by trees and bushes. "We'll leave at sun rise, Sakura. So get some rest. Naruto and I will take first watch."

Sakura nodded and glanced over at Sasuke, only to look away with a small blush evident on her cheeks. 'We haven't really been alone together since we were in the hospital visiting my mom.' Sakura thought nervously. "O – ok." She replied, getting her bed-roll out. She really was tired. Every night she spent with her mom, looking after her, and making sure she was ok through the night. She hadn't gotten much sleep.

"I'll wake you guys up when it's time." Kakashi said again. Sakura nodded from her position near the fire. She fell asleep almost instantly.

s-S-s

Sasuke was woken up what seemed like minutes after he had fallen asleep. Being on a mission with Team Seven again was difficult to put it simply. There were so many memories and things that was going through his head, he couldn't sleep. And the fact that they could run into the Akatsuki, and a chance that it could be Itachi.

He nodded to Kakashi who had woken him up, and took his place by the fire, watching the flames silently. Sakura joined him groggily after her surprising awakening from Naruto. Which undoubtedly earned him a bump on the head.

She smiled. "Good, er, morning, Sasuke-kun." She whispered, rubbing her hands together to warm them. Despite being summer, the nights were still very cold. Especially in the forest.

"Yeah…" He nodded.

Sakura yawned and rubbed her eyes, ridding herself of tears. She squinted into the fire then lay back, looking at the stars.

"You can go back to sleep. I can keep watch myself." Sasuke told her quietly. He knew of her late visits to the hospital from visiting her mom himself.

She shook her head. "No, it's ok. It's still a mission, and I have to play my part."

Sasuke said nothing after that, just continued to watch the fire. Sakura decided to break the silence in order to keep herself awake. "If you don't mind me asking… what did the Elders say to you? At the… hearing?"

Sasuke hesitated to answer. "What was expected of them to say."

"That is?" Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes at his uncaring tone.

"What I did was irresponsible and could have cost the village its safety. What I did to get power was not the _right_ way to do it. That I shouldn't even be allowed in the village. But under the information I gained from Danzo, it made it all right. And… saving you, as well." He muttered slowly.

"Oh." Sakura whispered bitterly. "They didn't even take into account for _why_ you did those things. Typical."

Sasuke looked at her to elaborate.

"You brother killed _everyone_. What else were you supposed to do? You were given a chance to get the strength to kill him and avenge your clan. I understand that now. They couldn't possibly judge you unless they went through what you did. They're _old_," she mused, "they think all we're good for is protecting the village and be seen as weapons. They couldn't… _possibly understand_… what it could have been like for you. No one could."

All Sasuke could to was stare at her in amazement. This was the girl who begged him to stay and now she's telling him _this_? He smirked. "You've changed, Sakura. A lot."

She smiled. "Hey," she laughed quietly, "I didn't just sit around and do nothing, you know. I thought about things and looked at it from your perspective."

She sat back up and smiled at him. "I'm just glad you're back. You know, I hope we run into Itachi… He can finally be killed."

"You shouldn't help me, Sakura. You or Naruto."

"Why not?" Sakura asked, frowning.

"He'd kill you without a second thought. He's my brother and it's my clan I'm avenging."

"Sasuke, when will you ever get it?" Sakura shook her head. "We love you. You can't do everything alone. You'll kill him, but we'll help you. I'm a medical ninja," she grinned, "think about it."

"You don't get it."

"What don't I get, Sasuke?" Sakura asked angrily.

"He can _kill_ you. He can put you in a genjutsu that will leave you unconscious for days – weeks." Sakura shuttered remembering sitting by his bedside for two weeks. "I won't let you die if I could have prevented it."

Sakura grabbed his hand. "I _won't_ die, Sasuke-kun. We're strong too; we're a team. Naruto has grown so much. It'll be ok. I'll do as you tell me, and I'm sure Naruto would do the same, but I will help you. If you get hurt, I'll make sure you're healed, ok?"

Sasuke sighed and shook his head. 'It would be a big help.' He reasoned. He nodded regardless though. If it came down to making them leave, he could always knock them out, or something, he concluded.

Their heads snapped behind them when there was a rustle in the bushes. A small mouse ran out and across the clearing. Sakura sighed. "Just a mouse."

The rest of the night was mostly silent. There wasn't much you could talk about with Sasuke. As was planned, they woke Kakashi and Naruto up at sunrise. They wasted no time packing up camp and eating a quick energy bar on the go. Naruto and Kakashi set the pace in the front and Sasuke and Sakura brought up the rear.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called loudly.

"What, Naruto?" She asked annoyed, she was tired and staying awake half the night with Sasuke was stressful.

"What's your dad like?"

"What? What made you ask that?"

"Well… in the off chance we don't make it in time, if the Akatsuki attack them again, I want to know what he was like so I can remember him, too." Naruto explained, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Well… uhm, he's a Jounin. A – and, he was a sensei in his earlier years… he fights with Katana mostly. He's amazing. I've always wanted to learn them, but he never had time. He's got fire element chakra and said that there would be a good chance I'd have fire too, but he never had time to try and teach me. You see he was the type of husband who put work above family… the safety of the village means everything to him. The safety of me… and my mom. But… despite all that, he always, _always_ made time to be with us. That's why he's working so hard to get more money… so I can get the herbs I need to complete my antidote… for mom."

"So he… would rather work… but he did that to help you and your mom? To keep you safe." Naruto concluded.

"Yes, that's what he did. He always made the special occasions; like a birthday… or Christmas. He was always there, and it made it that much more special." She decided to leave out when she graduated from the academy, seeing as how both Naruto and Sasuke had no one there for them.

"What about when we graduated from the academy?" Naruto asked curiously. 'Damnit.' Sakura growled to herself; of _course_ Naruto would bring something up she wanted to avoid altogether.

"Uhm… yeah, that too I guess. I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? It was a happy time for you." Naruto asked again.

"I just don't, ok. You… you and Sasuke-kun had no one there with you… it's uncomfortable for me to think about it." She muttered loud enough for all of them to hear.

Sasuke looked at her strangely from the corner of his eye. And Naruto looked at her over his shoulder. He smiled. "It's ok! It's not your fault." He explained. "Right Teme?"

"Hn." Sasuke nodded and smirked, "Dobe."

Naruto growled and looked away. "Well, what about your mom?" He asked, on a roll, now.

Sakura sighed exasperatedly, but smiled none-the-less. "She's great. _Always_ there when I needed her the most. She stayed at home, a housewife. She loves to cook and bake, she was always making me my ninja gear… my holster and my pack. She was really talented with a sewing machine…"

"Was?" Naruto asked. Sakura frowned.

"Idiot. She's paralysed." Sasuke growled. "She can't anymore."

"Ah, I'm sorry, Sakura-chan! I forgot! But you'll fix her up!"

"It's alright. She is always curious about my love life… embarrassing me all the time. She always used to sing me to sleep. Even when I was older… call me a baby or whatever you want, but it helped. Dad was never there, so I couldn't sleep, I had nightmares. I don't know why… but her humming and singing always leaves me tired and puts me into a dreamless sleep." Sakura explained, a soft, longing smile on her face.

"Was she trained as a ninja?" Kakashi asked.

"No, she was a civilian. Why?"

"No reason, just curious, is all." He replied nonchalant.

The rest of the day consisted of stopping for a wholesome lunch thanks to Naruto's complaining and picking up their pace to avoid traveling in a storm that was seen coming. By the time it was on them they had set up camp and provided as much shelter as one tent would allow. Sakura had it with her for emergencies.

"We can't all fit in here." Sakura yelled over the rain, wind and thunder. She really hated storms. They were loud and could be dangerous; precisely why she was afraid of them. Sakura hated to admit it, but ever since she was little, she hated them. Every time a clap of thunder was heard, she would flinch away.

"Sakura-chan you stay in there, you need to save up your chakra and get some rest." Naruto told her, Kakashi agreeing with him.

"Yes, I agree. I will stay out here." Kakashi said. "The trees will cover for me and I can keep watch. You three can use the tent."

"But, sensei, that's hardly fair." Sakura started, shaking her head. "We should –"

"No, it's ok. Look, we're hardly getting wet here, it'll be fine. I've had to stay up all night before, Sakura."

"Fine." She grumbled.

"Well, I'm not complaining!" Naruto announced, folding his arms behind his head and heading over to the tent, opening it and climbing in. "Let's get in here before we really get wet."

Sasuke followed, along with Sakura. She stopped before getting in. "If you get tired, wake me up, ok? I can take over."

Kakashi nodded. "It'll blow over in an hour or two."

She smiled and climbed in, taking off her shoes, beside Sasuke, against the edge. 'Great… where it's the coldest.' She thought groggily, climbing into her bedroll. She got comfortable on her back and looked to her side to see Sasuke facing away from her. Naruto was already asleep, hence the snoring. 'There is no way I'm getting any sleep.' She thought.

Sure enough, she noticed Sasuke's breathing take an even, tranquil pace, in which she presumed he fell sleep. She enjoyed hearing his deep breaths; she found it calmed her despite her shivering.

Curling into a ball on her side, she pulled the blankets around her tightly and tried to stop her teeth from chattering. This resulted in her jaw aching from clenching it for too long. She groaned angrily, closing her eyes tighter.

"Sakura?"

She froze and looked up a little to see Sasuke watching her curiously. "S – sorry, did I wa – ake you?" She asked, shivering viciously. 'Why does it have to be so damn cold?!' She thought.

"You're cold." Sasuke stated. Sakura looked at him angrily. 'No shit.' She thought.

She shook her head. "I – I'll be ok. G – get some sleep." With her blanket still wrapped tightly around her, Sasuke pulled her to him, earning a startled gasp from her. He pulled his blanket over her as well. "What are you doing?" She whispered, blushing furiously.

"Warming you up, what's it look like?" He muttered, pulling her to his body.

Already, Sakura could feel his body heat warm her. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

s-S-s

Sakura woke the next morning held tightly against Sasuke's chest. Her breathing hitched and she froze. Hesitantly, she looked up to see him still asleep. Sighing, she forced herself to relax. 'It's fine; he's the one that is holding you, remember? He can't get mad at you,_ he_ is the one holding _you_.' She told herself firmly. She felt a blush rise and can't believe the situation she's in.

"Sa – Sasuke-kun…" She whispered, trying to pull away. He stirred and opened his eyes. They narrowed in confusion when he saw her against him, smiling awkwardly. "I – It's morning… you can let go…"

Instantly he let go of her, and she backed up. "Sorry." He muttered, standing up quickly, only to stumble in the small tent, to get out. He kicked Naruto on his way, successfully waking the blonde.

"Stupid Teme." He muttered. "Morning Sakura-chan." He smiled at her.

"Morning Naruto. Shall we?" She asked, standing up, only to fall back down thanks to an insane wave of dizziness. She held her head and groaned. Naruto watched her worriedly.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

Sakura shook her head and winced. It was _pounding_. "Shit…" She muttered. Naruto crawled over to her and felt her forehead.

"You're burning up!" He exclaimed. "Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke!" He called.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, opening the tent flap, Sasuke was still sitting by the fire, his head in his hand. Sakura frowned.

"She's got a fever." Naruto muttered. Kakashi felt her forehead to verify it and nodded.

"So does Sasuke. He's not doing so well either."

"What?" Sakura whispered. "That doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" Kakashi asked.

"W – well… I was against the tent and it's usually cold there… we shared our blankets. We were warm the whole night!"

"It doesn't." He nodded. He looked behind him in time to see Sasuke fall to the ground on his side. "Sasuke?" He called.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled, getting up as fast as she could, ignoring the stabbing pain in her head and the dizziness. "Sasuke?" She asked, turning him to his back. She felt his temperature and frowned. It was sky-high. He was breathing heavily and sweating. "Kakashi, I need a flashlight." She called, finding it hard to breath all of a sudden. 'Shit… I've got the same thing…' She thought. "Hurry!"

"Here!" Naruto said, skidding to a stop beside her. She grabbed it and flashed it in Sasuke's eye. His usual deep black eyes were clouded over, and the veins were visible.

"Oh no… Naruto you see his eyes?" She asked.

"Yeah… what's wrong with him?" He asked, nodding.

Sakura held the flashlight to her eye. "Is mine the same?" By this time, Kakashi was with them. Naruto nodded, his eyes confused. Sakura dropped the flashlight to the ground, her hands beginning to shake. Then her vision started to swim. "Poison…" She muttered falling backwards, losing consciousness.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto gasped, catching her. He lay her down slowly and stood up. "Damnit! You heard her! They're poisoned!"

"When?" Kakashi asked himself. "The Akatsuki must have seen us."

"What are we gonna do?" Naruto asked.

"We have no other choice than to return to the village. We don't know anything about the poison and they could need life support soon." Kakashi ordered, biting his thumb and starting a series of hand signs. Slamming his hand on the ground, Pakkun appeared. "Pakkun, take the lead," Kakashi started, hoisting Sasuke to his back, "the Akatsuki could be near."

"Sure thing." He growled, sniffing the air.

"But… Sakura-chan's dad…" Naruto whispered, lifting Sakura into his arms. "He'll die!"

"We have no choice, Naruto. It's either him or these two." Kakashi said sternly, nodding towards Sakura. "Let's go." He ordered, jumping into the trees after Pakkun.

* * *

**Ok, chapter 10!! I hope I spelled Pakkun right. I've seen a couple different ways... oh well, it worked for me!  
So, tell me what you thought! I put some fluff in this one!**

**Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**--Chapter 11--**

'We've been lucky so far,' Kakashi thought

'We've been lucky so far,' Kakashi thought. 'They are just unconscious by the looks of it. And the village is in view.'

"Alright, Kakashi, I didn't smell anything so I'm going to go. It seems they attacked them for some reason and left. Maybe so you had to turn back and leave the girls father." Pakkun explained, looking behind him at Kakashi.

"Yes, that's right. Thank you." Kakashi nodded. He looked behind him at Naruto. "The village is in sight, we'll go straight to the hospital and summon the Hokage from there."

"Ok." He nodded, following Kakashi close behind as they left the trees. They were running on the path now, right to the gates.

"Oh good." Kakashi sighed, Izumo and Kotetsu were already making their way over.

"What's going on?!" Izumo called.

"They were poisoned. Go and get Tsunade-sama to go to the hospital." Kakashi ordered, not stopping for them.

s-S-s

Naruto and Kakashi were led to an emergency room. Even though Sasuke and Sakura weren't showing any obvious signs from the poison, just the usual laboured breathing associated with most poisons, they didn't want to take chances as this was an unknown poison they were dealing with.

Tsunade arrived minutes after they arrived. "What are their vitals?" She asked loudly, going over to Sakura, then looking behind her at Sasuke.

"All normal, ma'am." A nurse replied.

"Any signs of internal bleeding?"

"No, ma'am."

"Kakashi, Naruto, how long has their breathing been laboured?"

"As soon as they passed out it started. Both had headaches and were dizzy." Kakashi answered.

"Their eyes are the same too! Sakura-chan made me check." Naruto put in.

Tsunade immediately took a flashlight and looked at both their eyes. Her eyes narrowed and then smiled, shaking her head. "They're fine…" She sighed. "It's just a prolonged sleeping drug… an overdose, but not lethal. This one generally takes a couple of hours to kick in. Give them lots of fluids and they'll wake up within a day." She turned to Kakashi and Naruto. "Sakura's father?"

"A day away they collapsed… we figured we should get them back. I wouldn't let them die." Kakashi said firmly, unwavering.

Tsunade stared at him hard then shook her head. "You're always the same. I would have done the same… I'll send ANBU to go retrieve them and give medical assistance… maybe they can get him here alive. Although…" she started looking over at Sakura, "she won't be too happy…"

"I know…" Kakashi sighed, taking out his book and flipping it open.

Naruto sighed loudly and brought up a chair between the two beds. The nurses were inserting the IV's into their arms. "I don't care if she's mad." He said, "I wouldn't have let her die. Or Sasuke. She'll understand, don't worry about that."

s-S-s

As the sun rose, so did the birds, chirping loudly outside Sakura and Sasuke's window. Naruto insisted he stay in their room all night, to make sure he was there when they woke up. Particularly Sakura. He wanted to be the one to explain about her father.

Another team was sent out to go retrieve him, scheduled to arrive tomorrow at noon if all went well.

Currently, the hyper-active ninja was sleeping, his head tilted back with his mouth wide open, snoring. In his slumber, Sakura jolted out of her laying position. She looked around warily, searching.

"Dad?" She whispered hoarsely, looking around. Her eyes landed on Naruto. "Naruto!" She nearly shouted.

With one final snort, he jumped forward, wide eyes looking at Sakura. "You're awake!" He exclaimed, standing up and moving to her side. "Thank goodness, I was worried sick! I thought –"

"Where's my dad?" She asked loudly, ignoring him. "Did you go get him? Did Kakashi?"

Naruto's face hardened. "The moment you said poison, Sakura, we left for the village."

She froze, her face contorting in pain, realisation. "You left him?" She whispered and her expression turned to rage as she clenched her fists. "You didn't continue the mission?! He could be dead! How can I explain that to my mom?!"

"Sakura, an ANBU team has left to retrieve them. You don't know if he's dead or not." Naruto spoke calmly.

"I don't care! You know me, Naruto! I don't care what happens to me. My mom… her life is already in jeopardy! How will this help her?" She was close to hysterics now. "She won't forgive me… She'll hate me for leaving him. I can't –"

"Sakura, calm down." Tsunade entered the room.

"How can I calm down?!" She screamed. "He's dying!"

"He's alive and on his way to Konoha." She said quietly.

"How can you –… what?" She whispered, her voice shaking along with her hands.

Naruto smiled. "The ANBU team made it in time…"

"He's stabilized." Tsunade finished.

Mouth opening and closing in shock, Sakura could only stare at her teacher. She smiled and lay back down, covering her forehead with the back of her hand. She took in a shaky breath and sighed.

"Thank you." She whispered finally. "What was the poison?" She then asked curiously.

"Overdose in a sleeping drug." Tsunade answered.

Sakura's brow creased. "How can that be? Sasuke and I didn't get knocked out until a little while after…"

"It was prolonged." She explained. "This type of drug isn't common anymore, as it was used in the Great ninja wars, given to the enemy before battle. While in battle, it would kick in, giving the opposing side an advantage."

"I see. That would make sense." She nodded. She looked to her left at Sasuke's bed. "Not awake?" She stated, then closed her eyes and sighed. "Why wouldn't they kill us?"

Tsunade shook her head. "I'm not completely sure. It could be that… Itachi was one of them… If he let Sasuke live then maybe he doesn't want to kill him? Orochimaru said your father was fighting the Akatsuki – Itachi – didn't he? Maybe he was telling the truth."

"Could be. It wouldn't make sense for Itachi to only do that to Sasuke-kun and I though…"

"Why not?" Naruto asked.

"Well… remember the state he put Sasuke-kun in when they met in the hotel? When Itachi and Kisame were supposed to kidnap you?" Sakura contemplated. "He… hurt him pretty bad." She turned and watched Sasuke sleep. A small smile found it's way to her face.

"Either way," Tsunade stated, making her way to the door, "you're alive, and there is a good chance your father will be too. When Sasuke wakes up call the nurse for a final check-up and you're free to go."

Naruto stood up and stretched, yawning all the while. "I should go… Kakashi-sensei said he'd help me some more with my wind chakra training, now that Yamato-taichou is back from his mission. And now that you're awake, I can concentrate." He smiled.

"Alright, Naruto. Go develop that jutsu." She giggled, reaching out her arms and hugging him goodbye. "Maybe we should go get ramen later today, when we get out of here."

"That'd be great!" He grinned and turned to Sasuke, walking over to his bed. His eyes narrowed and he leaned down. "Oi, Teme." He poked him in the arm… multiple times. "Wake up!"

Sakura frowned. "Naruto! Leave him alone. Go train already." Though, as she yelled at him angrily, Sasuke stirred, and that was Naruto's cue to jump out the window, laughing.

Sasuke opened his eyes and shot up, looking around with his sharingan activated.

"It's ok. We're in Konoha." Sakura said calmly. He nodded and deactivated it, looking towards her.

"What happened?" He asked roughly, his voice hoarse with sleep. He coughed slightly.

"It was an overdose with a sleeping drug."

He frowned. "How? We were both asleep… When?"

"I never thought of that. That's a good question." She paused. "Well, it was an old drug, according to Tsunade-sama. It takes a day or so to take affect…" She stopped and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "So maybe the first night?"

"The mouse." Sasuke stated.

"What?"

"When the mouse ran across the clearing… It wasn't just wondering. It wouldn't come close to the fire."

"Oh… It was scared out." Sakura finished and frowned. "I didn't feel anything."

Sasuke shook his head. "I know. That's the only explanation."

She sighed and sat up. She pushed the red button on the controller on her bedside table. "The nurse should come now. After she checks us, we can go."

"What about your dad?" Sasuke asked suddenly, whipping his head to her direction.

"He's ok… The ANBU team they sent out when Kakashi and Naruto brought us back made it there pretty fast… he's stable for the time being. They're on their way back. I'd imagine they'd get back in a couple of days. Since they'd need to take their time with him." She said quietly, her head down. "Mom will be so mad… I left him. He could have died and I –"

"No, she won't." Sasuke interrupted her. "You're alive and that matters to her as well. She'd never hate you, Sakura. This was out of your hands."

She smiled at him. "Thanks." She whispered. Sasuke nodded and turned to the door when the nurse walked in.

"So, you're both awake! Let's check your vitals and then you can go!" She chirped, smiling.

s-S-s

"Sakura! You're ok!"

"Yes, mom. I'm fine, nothing to worry about." Sakura laughed, sitting next to her on the chair. Sasuke leaned reluctantly on the wall by the door, his arms crossed and eyes closed. An irritable expression dawned on his face.

"Sasuke-kun!" Mrs Haruno laughed. "There's no reason to stay over there! Come join us!"

He sighed and dragged a chair over toward her. Sakura laughed quietly beside him. The _only_ reason he was even here was because Sakura's mom wanted him to be. She seemed to take quite a liking towards him. It made him uncomfortable, really, having Sakura's mom care for him after all this time.

"Kakashi came and told me everything. You guys are lucky. Though, he was confused as to when you would have been drugged." She told them.

Sakura nodded and glanced at Sasuke. "We've figured it out. A mouse had run past us on our watch. It must have been then because a mouse wouldn't come close to a fire."

"Yes, that makes sense." She paused. "You didn't feel anything?"

"No." Sakura shook her head. Then, her mom's eyes narrowed, staring at her daughter. "What's on your neck?" Her face brightened. "Oh! Is that a hickey?!"

"What?!" Sakura shrieked, running to the mirror to look at her neck. "I don't see it." Came her muffled voice.

"Sasuke-kun, you have one too… In the same spot."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her and followed Sakura into the bathroom. "Sasuke, where is it? I don't see."

"It's near the back. Right under your hair." He answered, touching the spot. "It's not a hickey… It's the injection site."

Sakura nodded. "Makes sense. Turn around, let me see." He did as she said. "Hmm… there is no needle mark. Must have been some sort of sticky substance… it slowly went into our bodies, I guess."

"Are you two ok in there?" Came Mrs. Haruno's teasing voice. "You don't have to stay with me if you want to go somewhere by yourselves, you know."

"Mom! It's nothing like that!" Sakura yelled irritably, healing the mark on Sasuke's neck, then her own. "It was just the injection site. We _are not_ dating, together, _or doing anything_!" She finished firmly. She grinned at Sasuke. "Sorry. Moms…"

Sasuke nodded slowly, a smirk grazing his face as he followed her out of the room.

"So, the injection site, huh?" Ami asked curiously. "Shouldn't you go and see Tsunade-sama then?"

Sakura shook her head. "I imagine she already knew about them. She didn't question me about it or look me over. Must have slipped her mind. She really should stop drinking…"

Her mom nodded. "Sakura, sweetie, I'm exhausted. You two go and do something. I'm going to just rest. All of this excitement…"

Sakura nodded sadly, her eyes watching her mom painfully. "Ok, mom… I'll come see you in the morning." She leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"I'd like that." She said quietly. She smiled at Sasuke. "You should speak up more, Sasuke-kun! You're so quiet!" She laughed quietly. "Thank you for coming to see me."

Sasuke nodded. "It's fine." He leaned down awkwardly and let her hug him when she gestured him to, resting his hand on her shoulder afterwards. "Get some rest." He finished, walking to the door with Sakura behind him.

Sakura sighed as soon as she walked out of the hospital behind Sasuke. "She seems to be getting worse now… Tsunade said she was getting better." She mumbled, her voice cracking.

"She'll be ok." He assured her. "Once your dad gets here, we'll go to Suna."

s-S-s

Sakura stood next to her mentor, awaiting the ANBU's arrival with her dad. She had spent most of the day with Sasuke, much to her surprise, and ate dinner at Ichiraku's with a bunch of her friends.

Kakashi waited with her, standing next to her and allowing her to squeeze his hand. She needed something to hold onto, to let out her fear and apprehension. She knew he was alive and stable, but she didn't know if she was ready…

Thoughts of leaving the hospital right now and waiting to see him once Tsunade was done with him ran through her head. Maybe she couldn't perform at her best because it was her dad in critical condition, because she knew it was up to her to help him and if she failed, his death would be on her hands.

Then there was her mother.

Whom she loved dearly, and wanted to do all she could to help her get better and help her do the things she loved to do. Gardening, shopping, fretting over her well being… All the normal "mom" things to do.

That, right there, was the only thing that was keeping her where she was. That, and killing Kakashi's hand.

"Their here," came Tsunade's grim voice, "Sakura, there isn't really anything for you to do… please, stay out here and wait until we're done."

"What?" Sakura exclaimed loudly. "You said I could be here and help," she said much quieter, almost pleading, "I need to do this…–"

"You need to get some rest, Sakura. You're in no condition, now go and wait!"

Sakura cringed at the command. She had almost forgotten how strict Tsunade could be. So, like a good student does, she allowed Kakashi to steer her out of the room and across the hall, in the waiting room. She was vaguely aware of Tenten and Ino sitting down beside her and taking Kakashi's place in holding her hand. He stayed close, reading his book and watching his student with care.

They were waiting in silence for about an hour, waiting and waiting for the news. Sakura hadn't moved, just staring ahead, thinking of the worst that could happen. Though, it was comforting to know Tsunade herself was looking after him. But, as usual, her over-analytical brain thought up every possible outcome.

So, when Tsunade walked through the double doors with a smile on her face, Sakura burst into tears and threw herself into the Hokage's expecting arms. Crying her relief and just _letting it all out_.

"I'm sorry Sakura, I know you wanted to help, but you know how it works. In the field it's different, but in the hospital, it's best if family was taken care of by someone they aren't close to."

"I know… I'm fine." Sakura whispered, releasing the woman before her and walking out the door. "I'm going to see him."

--

**Ok, here is chapter 11, finally. I hope you all enjoyed it! And sorry for the long wait.  
Review??**

**I have no idea when the next will come out, maybe... 2 weeks? -.-**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the long wait, I was having a little bit of trouble with this one.**

**--Chapter 12--**

"Dad?" Sakura asked quietly walking into the dark hospital room. "Are you awake?" She asked quieter.

"Sakura?" Came a surprised, but tired voice. "You're home? You're ok?" She smiled and walked to the edge of the bed, sitting on the edge and taking his hand.

"I'm ok, dad." She whispered and leaned down to hug him. "More importantly you're ok…"

"This is nothing." He joked plainly. He sat up slowly and smiled awkwardly at his daughter. "I got quite a bit of money for this mission…" He started, "What happened to you?"

Smiling bitterly, she relived her tale. Watching his face carefully, his expression barely changed as he stared at her. "Uchiha Sasuke?" He asked after a minute. "The Genin who left the village years ago?"

"Yes, dad. He saved my life." She paused, watching him fight an inner battle. "He said… he would go with me to Suna to get the herbs I need, to pay for them."

"What? After we struggled to get the money? Sakura, I will not accept charity for my family."

"I know dad! Mom is getting worse, and we still don't have enough. Do you want her to die?" Her voice stayed quiet, yet firm. She was going with Sasuke no matter what he said. "I will pay him back, dad. I _will_ go with him."

"Why would he offer this for us?" He asked after being silent.

Sakura laughed quietly. "Mom has taken quite a liking to him. And so has he, I guess. She seems to think something is going on between us. It's quite annoying, actually."

"Sounds like Ami. We will pay him back." He agreed.

Sakura smiled and hugged him tightly. "Thank you dad. I'm so glad you're ok. I was on a mission yesterday to go and get you with my team, but Akatsuki was still around… They drugged me and Sasuke-kun. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei were forced to turn back."

"They drugged you? With what?"

"An old sleeping drug, one used in the wars."

He nodded, understanding. "I'm glad you two are alright. But, Sakura, I'm really tired, so you don't have to stay." He turned away from her, facing the wall.

Sakura frowned. Was he… telling her to leave? "Ok dad. I will be leaving for Suna in the morning, by the way." She said quietly, leaving without another word. She walked slowly through the hospital, confused at her dad's reactions. He seemed uncaring towards her. The only emotions he showed was when she told him of Sasuke's offer, and money.

"That's strange…" She murmured, leaving through the entrance of the hospital. 'He didn't even care. He's usually so curious about my missions and happy to see me. It was like he was only playing the father role.'

"Sakura." A male voice came from behind her.

"Huh?" She jumped slightly in surprise and turned around. "Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Tsunade wants to talk to us about going to Suna. She sent me to wait for you." He explained, walking past her. Sakura quickly followed him, slightly annoyed by the fact he just kept walking.

Regardless, she followed him silently, still thinking about her fathers' behaviour. "How is he?" Sasuke asked her suddenly, looking down at her.

"He's fine, I guess." She answered slowly. Sasuke raised an eye-brow at her in question. "He was acting strange, that's all."

"How so?"

'My, he's talkative today.' Sakura thought sarcastically. "It was like he didn't care… it was as if he was forcing himself to be how he was. He didn't seem like the same dad I had before."

Sasuke nodded. "Maybe it was the meds?"

"No," Sakura shook her head, "it couldn't have been. They don't affect someone's emotions. Medicine leaves people drowsy at the most. He was like a different person."

"His injuries?"

"I don't know." She ran a hand through her long hair, frustrated. "Tsunade better tell me… I don't want mom to see him until I know what's going on." She sighed, pulling her hair over her shoulder and combing through it. "I should see Ino tonight. I need her to cut my hair."

By the time Sakura was done talking, they were outside Tsunade's office. Sakura didn't even knock, she just walked in. "Tsunade-shishou, what's wrong with him?" Her voice trembled slightly, her fear evident.

"What do you mean, Sakura? His injuries are not to be worried about."

"He's different. He didn't even care… He wasn't the same person!" Sasuke laid a hand on her shoulder, calming her. She smiled at him quickly.

"He had no head injuries." Tsunade confirmed.

"Then what?" Sakura whispered.

"He fought Itachi." Sasuke hissed, spitting out his brothers name with hatred.

"That's right… Orochimaru said," she glanced at Sasuke, "he showed him mine and mom's deaths…"

"Psychological trauma?" Shizune asked.

"Yes, that makes sense."

"But… wouldn't he show happiness, at least, when he saw me? He didn't even smile right…" Sakura was still sceptical. All she knew is that if she witnessed that she'd be ecstatic when she saw the victims alive and well.

Tsunade shook her head. "I'll examine him, Sakura. Don't worry about it right now."

"Thank you, Shishou."

"Ok, now you want to go to Suna, correct?" Sakura nodded. "You finally have enough money, Sakura? You know I would help you in any way I could—"

"I know. It's ok." Sakura interrupted her. "I understand!" She smiled.

"Ok, thank you. Well, you can leave when you're ready, I guess." She looked at Sasuke. "I Take it he will be accompanying you?"

"Yeah…" Sakura sighed. "He… uhm—"

"I'm paying for the herbs." Sasuke interrupted.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Why would you offer this?"

"I don't want anyone to die." He said.

"Thank you, Sasuke." Tsunade whispered. "I wish I could give Sakura the money, but 'it's out of the question' according to the Elders."

He nodded.

"I will pay him back." Came Sakura's quiet voice.

"That is unnecessary." Sasuke told her.

"N – no, I have to. Sasuke, this is a lot of money. I promised my dad—"

"It's my choice. Don't worry about him, if he has a problem he can come to me." His tone was final. His soft, midnight eyes bore into hers, assuring her it was fine, that he _wanted_ to do this. She sighed and nodded.

"Any idea when you'll leave?" Tsunade asked.

"In the morning?" Sasuke asked her.

"That's fine with me." She agreed. "I suggest you get some rest, Sakura. It's been a long day for you. And it's three days to get to Suna."

"Is Gaara aware that we are coming?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Yes, I sent a hawk yesterday for you. So he should be expecting you." Tsunade smiled.

Sakura smiled and thanked her again before leaving with Sasuke.

s-S-s

"Hey mom." Sakura said quietly, exhaustion written in her voice.

"What's wrong, honey? How's Hikaru? What happened to him? Why can't I go see him?"

"He's fine… there's just… he's not himself." She tried to explain calmly when she, herself, wasn't sure what was going on.

A look of dread appeared on Ami's face. "What do you mean?"

"There are many scenarios that could attribute to his personality. It seemed as though he didn't care when I told him what had happened to me. It's like he had trouble expressing his emotions, or he was forcing himself." Sakura's nurse profession was talking now. "It could be a long-lasting jutsu, maybe some sort of drug or slow spreading poison, or…"

"Or what? Sakura, what's wrong?" She studied her daughters' face carefully as she turned away.

"It could not even be him… but a powerful jutsu someone used on themselves to infiltrate Konoha." She finished, not daring to look at her mothers' face.

"How can you tell?" She whispered.

"Well, for one, his chakra. Or we could have him do a questionnaire that only dad would know. Simple things… if it is that reason, that it's not him, the ANBU will be involved."

Her mother nodded. "Tsunade is looking into this personally, mom." Sakura assured her. She knew of her trust for the Hokage. Sakura stood. "I should probably get going… Sasuke-kun and I are leaving at dawn for Suna." She said stretching, and leaning down to hug her mother. "I won't be able to see you in the morning anymore."

"Be careful, honey." She smiled and hugged her daughter back. "Though, I have nothing to worry about, Sasuke is with you!"

Sakura groaned and kissed her mom on the cheek before standing straight. "Don't start mom…" She warned slowly.

"But it's so obvious! You still love him and he _seems_ attracted to you! Maybe if you—"

"No mom, I pushed him away with trying when I was younger, I won't do it again. If he feels the same way, well, great! But until—more like if—that happens, I am content being his friend." Sakura nodded to herself and smirked at her mom. "I'll be back soon, mom, hang in there."

Ami laughed and waved. "Something is going to happen, I know it!" She called as Sakura left the room.

'Aah… she never gives up!' Sakura thought annoyed. 'There is no way Sasuke will ever love me, let alone show any sort of romantic feelings to me.' She sighed contentedly, walking through the dark streets to her home.

"Sakura?" A voice asked behind her.

She turned her head to look over her shoulder at the familiar voice. "Sasuke-kun." She stated, surprise in her voice. "What's up?" She stopped and waited for him to catch up, when he stopped beside her, that's when she started walking again. "Sasuke?" She asked again.

"We should leave tonight." He said quietly.

"Why's that? Shishou gave us permission for tomorrow."

"You yourself told me your mom was getting worse. We should get there soon." He looked away in embarrassment.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She hugged him. "Can I ask you something?" He didn't answer so she continued. "Why… are you like this with my mom?"

"She reminds me of my mom. I see her when I see your mom…" He explained awkwardly, embarrassed. "She…" Sakura placed her finger to his lips and shook her head.

"You don't have to continue… I understand, and I'm glad! You were alone you so long, and now you have someone!" She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek, a blush covering her cheeks. "You have me… and Naruto, Kakashi… Sasuke-kun, my mom loves you and I haven't stopped." She took his hand in hers and led him to her house. "I know I've told you that before, but it's the truth… I probably never will stop. I mean, I've tried, but it doesn't work, my mind just goes back to you." She was babbling on now, talking fast.

"Sakura…"

"Hmm?" She said quickly, her head snapping in his direction, her cheeks still flushed.

"Thank you."

She stopped then, turning and facing him. She smiled softly and looked to the ground, turning away. "I never understood why you said that to me the night you left, Sasuke-kun…"

He brought his hand to her cheek and turned her head to face him. "For loving me." He whispered. "You became more to me than just another fangirl," she giggled lightly at this, "you meant it."

"Of course I did." She whispered hoarsely. "I love you for you. Not for your looks—at first it was your looks—but when I got to know you…"

Sasuke smiled lightly and took her hand in his, continuing to walk to her house, watching her warmly as they walked. Blushing all the while, Sakura was surprised when they were standing outside her door. His hand cupped her cheek.

"Sasuke." She breathed, leaning up towards him, her arms wrapping around his neck in a tight hug, burying her face in his chest. His arms held her close to him. He stared ahead, not entirely sure of the feeling in his chest. It was constricting, and it felt like he had a lump in his throat. But holding Sakura like he was seemed right. She truly and unconditionally loved him.

She suddenly pulled away, pushing him slightly so his hands rested on her hips, hers against his chest. "S—sorry… I shouldn't have…" She started and smiled sheepishly at him. He shook his head and took a step back. "I—I'll just get my stuff…" She whispered and opened her door, leaving it open for him while she want up the stairs to pack some stuff.

Coming back down the stairs, almost reluctantly, Sakura jumped the last few and slipped her boots on quickly. "Sasuke, you ready?" She rounded the corner of the stairway and found him staring at their family photos. "S—Sasuke-kun?" She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah." He muttered, tearing his eyes away and walking away. He smirked as he passed and opened the door for her. She smiled quickly and walked out into the cold night. As he stepped out of the house and closed the door, he stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder.

"What is it?" She asked nervously, turning to face him. She frowned as he kept staring at her intently, his dark eyes reflecting the moon's light.

"I'm glad I found you that night, Sakura." He said earnestly, taking a step closer, his eyes looking at her longingly. Sakura found herself blushing, her whole body becoming hot at his proximity.

"Uhm…"

He placed his finger to her lips, and then cupped her cheek. Her eyes widened as he leaned down and firmly placed his lips on hers. His eyes were closed, but he pulled back after a moment and looked at her, a smirk covering his lips.

She exhaled deeply and breathed in deeper. Her shaking hand came to his neck, gripping his hair. As soon as Sasuke's lips parted, she kissed him, moving her lips with his sloppily, considering it was their first kiss. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her body flush against his.

As Sakura let out a quiet moan, Sasuke parted her mouth with his lips, his confidence at an extreme high, he added his tongue, and did as he seen in the movies. Sakura joined him and ran her hands down his back and then up again under his shirt, massaging his smooth skin with her fingers.

Slowing down his fierce kiss, Sasuke hugged her tightly and pulled back, pecking her lips a couple of times before completely pulling away. Her eyes were still closed as she tried to catch her breath. Her arms slowly made their way to his chest, clenching his shirt in her hands. She finally looked up at him, a small, grateful smile on her face.

"Sasuke-k-kun?" She asked hoarsely.

"Sorry," he smirked, "couldn't help myself." And he leaned down again, placing a small kiss to her temple.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it, and I REALLY hope the kiss wasn't aweful. I've never actually kissed anyone before, so I was going off of what I've read from other fics.  
I know Sasuke's OOC, but... yeah, I don't really know, It's what happened! My fingers go their own way!**

**And I have no idea when the next will be out, maybe soon, cause I sort of have an idea...**

**Well, let me know what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13---------**

As soon as they left the village and away from any prying eyes (though it was unlikely at this hour) Sasuke shoved Sakura against a tree, and ravished her mouth. Ever since he found her and brought her back to Konoha, ever since Orochimaru and Danzo were killed, and ever since he became close to Sakura's mom and just talked, did he begin to realise that people loved him. That revenge wasn't the only thing in his life.

He had someone right here. Someone who loves him with everything she's got.

And he took it.

For one split second, he thought he was taking what wasn't his; what was untouchable; what wasn't meant for him. But after she accepted him and allowed him to do as he wished, he knew it was ok.

Sasuke pulled back for a moment and stared at her flushed face. She cracked her eyes open and smirked playfully. "You know," she whispered huskily, "you're getting better at this."

Smirking back, he started the next kiss, keeping it slow and loving. Their tongues danced and their hands wondered over each other's body, massaging and caressing. Sakura pulled back and smiled lightly. "Tell me Sasuke…" Her breath hitched when he attacked her neck, sucking, kissing. "Are you… just doing this or do you really—"

He looked up at her then, a hard look in his eyes. "I wouldn't kiss someone I didn't care about."

Sakura then smiled cheekily, cocking her head to the side. "Well then, I suppose you really care for me, huh?"

He smirked at her and pulled her against him tighter. "Of course." And he kissed her again.

s-S-s

"How much longer Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. They had just stopped for lunch on their second day of travel.

"We should be there by morning if we go all night, or by midday if we stop for the night." He smirked then as she blushed and looked away.

"Let's stop for the night." She said nervously, the previous night coming back to her. No, they hadn't done anything, but it was full of love.

Sasuke found himself becoming more and more attached to her, in every way possible. The feel of her body lying on top of his was comforting and their kissing was so addictive. He thought they were moving fast, but it seemed like they'd been together for months. Everything seemed right. He had asked her if she was comfortable, and she was, she said it was something she'd been hoping for and dreaming of since she'd first met him. Everything felt right to her.

And that had been answer enough for him.

After Sakura had taken out the granola bars she'd packed and they had eaten them, they left again. To let the food settle and prevent getting cramps, they decided to walk for a little bit. Besides, what better way to enjoy the forest around them? And be close together and hold each other's hand.

"You know," Sakura started conversationally, "I wonder what Temari and Kankuro will think when they see us."

"Why?"

"Well, as you know, I saved Kankuro's life after he got poisoned by Sasori." Sasuke nodded as he'd heard the story from her mother. "After that we all just became closer. Temari and Kankuro are like family to me now."

"Gaara?" Sasuke asked.

"Gaara's even more, actually." She started hesitantly.

Sasuke eyed her suspiciously. "Why's that?"

"Well… the Sand Elders wished for Gaara to be married, for the _stupidest_ reason." She shook her head angrily. "Love is supposed to happen over time! You can't just pick someone for someone else and expect them to get married! Those old bags wanted me to marry him. They said I was perfect because of my medical jutsu. I could help their medical ninja and such. Well, Gaara wouldn't have any of it, of course.

"Kankuro and Temari were on our side as well; this is how we became even closer, by the way. There was such a dispute over it but Gaara managed to get them to stand down." She laughed then, an amused smile left on her face as she looked up at him. "He said he was Kazekage and that he had the higher authority even though he was so young. That was why this all started. He was only… fourteen; I think, when he was named Kage of the Sand, so, naturally, allying villages had problems with the age.

"All the Elders could come up with was for him to be married. Ever since then we were close. Close enough to date, but neither of us had that in our interests. In fact, there is this girl that has piqued his interest. He denies it, but I see the way he looks at her." She giggled quietly. "I haven't seen him in months!"

Sasuke stared at her blankly. Gaara of the Sand; the freaky kid that had the demon sealed in him, fancied a girl. The kid that had tried to kill them in the Chuunin Exams. Sakura laughed at the look on his face.

"Yeah, Gaara's changed quite a bit. He's still quiet and reserved, but he's different on the inside. He even sleeps now that the Shukaku was removed."

He nodded. "We should get going if we want to make it there by noon tomorrow." He stated.

"Sure." She smiled and dropped his hand almost hesitantly, her hand going cold. As he turned, his body suddenly stiffened. He jumped ahead of her and set off at a fast speed, one that she couldn't keep up with. Confused, she tried to keep his pace, but found it difficult, becoming short on breath in just a few minutes. "Sa – Sasuke-kun!" She gasped. "Slow down!"

But he didn't. She frowned when he whipped out a kunai and clutched it in his hand. Somewhat scared, as she didn't sense any chakra, she forced more chakra to her feet to get more speed. By now they were higher in the treetops and she could hardly see the ground. Her stomach performed flips.

"Sasuke!" She called as loud as she could. Her foot touched hard and firm to the branch as she pushed off and swung herself to the next.

A moment before she landed on the branch, a kunai flew straight at her. Having no momentum to move out of the way, it buried itself into her thigh. A strangled cry escaped her lips when her leg crumbled beneath her weight, as she landed, and fell headfirst to the ground.

Her mind fuzzy from the pain, she barely heard Sasuke call her name. She did, however, feel someone catch her before she hit the ground. Her shaking hand held onto his shirt and helped to brace herself with the landing. "Damnit! Leave her out of this!" Sasuke snarled from across the small clearing of trees.

"What? Sasuke-kun?" Sakura mumbled. She cracked her eyes open and gritted her teeth. She was in Itachi's arms, her arms trapped. She struggled but it didn't seem to faze him. Her vision began to blur from the pain. "What did you put on the kunai?" She hissed, closing her eyes.

"Nothing to worry about." He said. "Just a pain enhancer Sasori made."

"Let her go." Sasuke snarled again, advancing toward them. She couldn't see anything anymore, white dots forming in her eyes, and her whole leg on fire. Her arm was freed and she clutched Itachi's robe, trying to endure it.

"I don't want to fight you, Sasuke. I have some information for you."

"I don't give a damn!"

Sakura then let out a strangled cry; her breathing accelerating. Itachi looked at her. "The longer you delay what I have to tell you, the more pain she will be in, brother. Your choice."

He shut his mouth and glued his eyes to Sakura's sweating and pained face.

Itachi took this time to start. "Pain is on his way to Konoha to attack. Akatsuki wants the Kyuubi, so Pain is on his way to get it. Uzumaki Naruto will be captured and he will die."

"Why do you care?"

He shook his head. "I do not wish the boy to die. He is your friend. I am merely helping you."

Sasuke growled slightly. "What the hell are you talking about?! You killed _EVERYONE_! _Our_ family! Why the hell would you care?!" He took several steps towards his brother when Sakura groaned again.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I can show you what really happened… I had no choice… If I didn't do what I did… you would have seen what I had to see." He then set Sakura on the ground and stepped back. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a needle with clear fluid in it. He tossed it to Sasuke. "The antidote. It will stop the pain."

Sasuke looked at it sceptically. "How do I know it isn't poison?" He hissed.

"I had the chance to kill her, but I didn't. Sasuke, I can show you what happened before I killed them."

"Sasuke! Just—give it to me!" Sakura screamed, writhing in the ground.

He wasted no minute after her outburst, darting forward and injecting the fluid into her thigh. Her tensed body relaxed and her breathing slowed. She opened her eyes and smiled. "I'm fine… just pull the kunai out for me." He did as told and she healed it quickly.

"Trust me now, little brother?" Itachi asked. "Let me show you." He brought his hands up into a hand sign. Before he started the jutsu, Sasuke helped Sakura off the ground and supported her against him, moving away from Itachi by a couple feet.

He frowned at the signs Itachi performed. It was a jutsu that ANBU used. Orochimaru said that it was used in the form of a genjutsu to show someone something from another's mind. There was no trick to what Itachi was going to do. He narrowed his eyes and allowed Itachi to show him. After all, if he spoke the truth, then Naruto, his best friend, was in serious danger.

_It was dark. No lights were on and all that was lighting the streets was the red moon. 'It's… that night…' Sasuke thought._

"_Sa… Sasuke-kun… what is this?" Sakura whispered from beside him. They were standing, as they were when he pulled her up. "What happened?" _

"_It the night my clan was killed." He said quietly. As he said that, a younger version of himself ran right by them. As he passed, they began to move. Like it was a movie and they followed every moment. "No…" Sasuke breathed. "Damnit, she doesn't need to see this!" Sasuke yelled at no one. "Itachi!" _

_He received no answer. _

_But it was already too late. They were brought to his parent's bedroom. And Sasuke had to witness his mother's lifeless body falling to the ground again. He turned when Sakura suppressed a scream. She was shaking, watching everything unfold before her. _

_The young Sasuke she grew to fall in love with, all that time ago, was crying. Itachi was destroying him, right before her eyes. She blinked away the blurriness of her tears. She watched as the boy ran away… And they were forced to follow. Sasuke pulled her to him, shielding what was going to happen next from her._

_But she could still hear. Hear Sasuke's cries of agony as he watched everyone being killed. _

_And then it stopped. "What's this?" She heard Sasuke mutter. She looked up slowly. They were in the Hokage's office. The Third Hokage's office. _

"_Lord Hokage, please, there is no other way to do this. They must be stopped. They must be killed!" The Elders were standing before him, hands on his desk. _

"_No, I won't have them all killed." Was his simple reply. _

"_Do you want the village in ruins?! This will start a war! Innocent villagers will be killed because of the Uchiha's greed. It is regrettable, but it is the only way." _

_Sarutobi looked to his left, where Itachi stood quietly, his face void of emotion. They had just been told that his father and the rest of the Uchiha men were planning a rebellion. They wanted to be rightfully known and rule the village. And that meant the Hokage's death. _

"_Uchiha Itachi has requested to be the one to kill them." _

_Sarutobi's head snapped towards the man. Itachi wanted to be the one to kill his family? _

"_Why, Itachi?" He asked quietly. "Why are you doing all of this? Betraying your clan?" _

"_I've seen what war is. I do not want Sasuke to have to witness it. And if I were to kill them myself, then I know they will die peacefully…" His cold voice rang throughout the room. _

_Sasuke stiffened and clutched the fabric of Sakura's shirt in his hands. Her sniffles were quieted down, but tears were still evident in her eyes. _

_They moved again, to a different scene. It was of Itachi, and a masked man. The mask was orange with black swirl mark and one hole to see out of. _

_"Tobi!" Sakura gasped quietly._

"_Itachi, has the order been issued?" The masked man asked. _

"_Yes, Madara-sama." Itachi said, bowing. _

"_Good, let's do this." Madara then stood and strolled to the door. _

"_Wait. You said if I did this, Sasuke would be spared." Itachi's voice rang through the room. _

"_You kill your family and make Sasuke-kun believe you were the one who did all of this. If you do this, I guarantee he will not be killed. And once he kills you, I will tell him of everything." _

"_That wasn't part of the deal." _

"_I have changed my mind." Madara drawled, turning around, his sharingan eye visible behind his mask._

_Itachi glared at him and then charged, whipping out a kunai in the process. He then became a blur as he attacked. And at the next moment, Madara was sitting on his chest, choking him casually. "Now, now. That is not how this is going to go. Do as I say or I will kill Sasuke right now." _

_Itachi stopped struggling and dropped his arms. Madara stood at his surrender and brushed off his Akatsuki cloak. "Let's go." _

_The last thing they could see was Itachi following Madara out the door. _

"That is what happened." Itachi said as they came out of their daze.

Sakura sniffed loudly and embraced Sasuke lovingly. Sasuke didn't say anything, just continued to stare at his brother. He did everything he did to save his life and the village, but all this time Sasuke believed he had to die. Everything he believed was so right was painfully, terribly, wrong.

"You don't need to say anything, Sasuke, I had a change of mind and decided that you should know. The Uchiha weren't the great clan you believed them to be. They were greedy, power hungry shinobi… The only logical thing to do was kill them all."

Then he disappeared in a flock of black ravens.

* * *

**Ok, here is chapter 13 people! I hope you enjoyed it!  
**

**To be completely honest, I had not intended Itachi to be in this chapter, let alone do what he did. But, I love Itachi now that I know the truth. So, I decided to make him good again! Besides, he is so hot. **

**I hope nothing was too cheesy... I had fun writing them kissing, since it has been so long since I could in this story... And yes, Sasuke is OOC... I hope not too much though. And the thing with Gaara was totally a spur of the moment. I didn't intend that either.  
****  
This will be GaaraMasturi.**

**Review?**


	14. Chapter 14

THANKYOU EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED SO FAR!! It makes me so happy to have this many reviews so far, and it surprises me people still review because of my tardiness in updating...

I apologize for the wait. But here it is, and I hope it is alright. As for any grammar or spelling mistakes, I think I got most of them, but if there is, well, too bad. ;P  
I don;t know when the next will come out, as I will be studying for my diplomas. I may be able to get one out over christmas break, however.

----------------------------------------Chapter 14

'Itachi did everything on Konoha's orders?' It didn't register in his mind. 'He still killed the clan… but it was to save _my_ life?' Again, it seemed too surreal, too make-believe. Itachi was the bad guy, the shinobi who killed the Uchiha clan and the man he lived to destroy. He couldn't have done everything for him… could he?

"Sasuke-kun, let's get back to the village… we need to tell Tsunade-sama." Sakura's quiet voice broke Sasuke's train of thought.

He turned to look at her slowly. He shook his head and looked in the direction they were going in before Itachi showed up. "We need to get the herbs for your mother." His voice broke.

"But… Naruto is—"

"Once we get there we'll send a messenger hawk. Your mom might not make it without the herbs." He began to walk away and gestured for Sakura to follow. She smiled sadly and jogged up to him, grasping his hand in hers firmly. "Thank you…" She whispered. He said nothing, only squeezing her hand back.

After a few minutes of walking slowly, Sasuke decided they should take to the trees again. "Just don't leave me behind again, ok?" Sakura asked quietly, a nervous smile on her lips.

Sasuke found himself smirking at her apologetically. "Sorry." And he nodded. "Let's go."

--

Nightfall came quickly, as both shinobi were lost in thought. Sasuke stayed right beside Sakura throughout the time they ran, guilty for allowing her to get hurt.

"It doesn't seem right, Sasuke-kun." She whispered when they stopped. "I thought… Itachi and Kisame were the two that were assigned the Kyuubi… I know he told us because Naruto is our friend… but what if it's all a trick?"

Sasuke watched her struggle on her words. "A trick to get all the Hidden Leaf shinobi together and kill them."

She nodded. "Yes… Konoha is the only village that really poses a threat to Akatsuki. Suna does as well, but they just help us… they don't necessarily attack on their own." Her eyes widened then. "Maybe they knew we were going to Suna and counted on us to tell Gaara! He will send some of their shinobi to help…"

"We'll just have to tell Tsunade and Gaara everything. They can decide from what we've gathered." Sasuke muttered and bent down to pick up a couple of fallen sticks. He dropped them on the ground and started a fire.

Sakura dropped to the ground next to where he was standing and brought her knees to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. Sasuke continued to stand, and poked the fire with a stick. "What are you going to do about the elders, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura suddenly asked, her voice loud in the silence that had been between them.

He stayed silent.

"I'll support whatever decision you choose…" She whispered, looking up at him nervously. "Just… don't leave again."

He met her eyes and just stared at her emotionlessly. After a moment, he sat beside her and pulled her to his side. "Don't worry about it." He said gruffly, bending his head to her neck, kissing her jaw line and down the rest of her neck. He stopped at the base of her neck and sucked, hard.

Sakura took in a sharp breath, and reached up to grasp his hair. She smiled and turned her body to swing her legs over his lap, and used her left hand to lift herself into his lap. Sasuke bit her and licked the red, bruised skin. Sakura breathed in deeply and turned to reach his lips, kissing him fiercely, showing him how much he really meant to her. He kissed her just as hard, and ran his hand up her shirt to her shoulder. He lowered her down slowly to the grass, never separating their lips. He supported her head with his left hand, his elbow on the ground to keep himself above her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She licked his lips teasingly and pulled away slowly. She ran her thumbs over his cheekbones and gazed into his dark eyes lovingly. His swollen, red lips smirked. She smiled back and pecked his lips tenderly, and moved to his neck. She nibbled on a spot and sucked slowly and carefully. She pulled back and kissed the mark. "Payback, Sasuke-kun." She laughed softly. "Let's go to sleep so we can leave early, ne?"

"Sure." He muttered and slid off of her to lie beside her. The night was surprisingly warm, so they slept easily without their bedrolls.

--

They left an hour before the sun set, as Sakura had woken up at the hour she usually did. Working early at the hospital almost everyday she didn't have a mission had its downs. On the plus side, Sasuke was a morning person, so they ate and left in minutes.

"We should get there in six or seven hours." Sasuke told her as they flew through the trees. Sakura made an effort to go fast, so they could get there quickly. She couldn't help but feel nauseous at the thought of Naruto being taken by the Akatsuki. Gaara's dead body came to mind, and it was terrifying to picture Naruto like that. There was no one that could bring _him_ back to life.

--

"Kazekage-sama, I've received a message that Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura are approaching the gates."

Gaara looked up from his paperwork, startled. The hand that was holing his head up slipped down onto his desk and he pushed up off the chair. He left the ninja without a word.

He was eager to see Sakura again. She and Naruto were his best friends, and he had some words he planned to tell the Uchiha. Member of Team Seven or not, he hurt his friends.

As the ninja had said, two silhouettes were approaching the gates. The desert wasn't bad, but there was some wind, making the sand a little painful to walk in. He could see one figure huddled into another, which he soon found out, minutes later, to be Sakura.

"Gaara-kun?" He turned around to see Matsuri looking at his quizzically. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the office?" He nodded forward, towards Sakura and Sasuke's figures, to indicate his answer. "I see." She mumbled, stopping beside him and looping her arm through his. She smiled up at him as he looked at her. The corners of his mouth twitched in a small smirk.

They stood together watching as the two became closer and closer, and once they were almost at the gates, Gaara subtly removed Matsuri's arm and jumped off the side of the lookout, manipulating the sand to carry him down. As he did so, he raised one arm to make more sand provide the two with a shield.

Sakura's head shot up and she waved, running towards the Kage. "Gaara!" He could hear her call. Seconds later, she collided with him, laughing all the while. "It's so good to see you again!"

He hugged her back just as strongly, and released her when she showed the intention to. He smirked. "Hey." He greeted. She laughed again and kissed his cheek.

"That's all you have to say? It's been a year, Gaara!"

"I know."

She shook her head. "You're hopeless."

Sasuke joined them at that moment. "I need to borrow a messenger bird. One that's fast."

Gaara glared at him. "Why?"

"We ran into Uchiha Itachi on the way here." Sakura explained. "He said Akatsuki are planning to get the Nine-tailed fox."

Gaara nodded and signalled a shinobi guard to come. "Take Uchiha to the birds. Give him the fastest, most reliable."

Sasuke followed the ninja immediately. Sakura watched him go then turned to Gaara.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to get the herbs for you." He told her. She opened her mouth to argue but he interrupted her. "Because of the circumstances of the last time you were here, the Council wouldn't have any of it. I tried."

"It's fine. Sasuke is paying for them." Then she grinned. "So, how's _Matsuri-chan_ doing?"

Gaara stiffened. "Fine."

"Oh?"

"Come on." He grunted and walked back through the gates.

Sakura laughed. "Oh come on, Gaara! I was only kidding. If it makes you feel better, Sasuke and I are dating."

He stopped in his steps and turned around slowly. "What?"

"Hey, it's ok. Didn't Tsunade tell you…?"

"Tell me what?"

"Sasuke's the one who helped me when I was… incapacitated." She looked to the ground nervously, and then back up at him.

He had a hard look in his eyes. "I heard you were back, but not the circumstances. Apparently there was an attack. That was the last message I received."

"Yes, Danzo was behind everything. He used his root ninja to attack."

"Even your kidnapping?" Gaara asked hotly.

Sakura nodded and her eyes softened. "Gaara… don't be upset with Sasuke, alright? There is a lot more to what he did than meets the eye."

"I'm all ears." He muttered, leading her to his office.

"You're impossible!" She sighed. Then she began to explain everything once they sat comfortably in his office. Her encounter with Sai, and how he subdued her, how Sasuke saved her, how she killed Sai, Danzo's attack, Orochimaru, and every single detail with their encounter with Itachi.

There was a knock on the door and Kankuro walked in with Sasuke behind him. A grin appeared on his face when he spotted Sakura. He walked up to her and ruffled her hair. "Hey kiddo."

She shooed his hand away and stood to hug him. "Shut it, Kankuro, you're only a year older."

He laughed. "Yes, but you're short." She came up to his chest.

Sasuke went to stand beside her and took her hand in his. Kankuro raised a brow. "Last time I saw you, you wanted nothing to do with her."

Sakura slapped his arm. "Leave him alone." She hugged Sasuke's arm and glared.

"Uchiha Sasuke…"

Sasuke turned to face Gaara and nodded his head in respect. Gaara seemed slightly surprised at this. "Kazekage-sama." He murmured.

Sakura giggled. "So serious."

Gaara walked up to him and looked him in the eye challengingly. The younger boy was taller. "You hurt them again, and I swear…"

Sasuke held his gaze. "I have no intentions of doing that."

Gaara nodded.

"My god, you guys…" Sakura huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, Gaara, I've gathered all the herbs you wanted me to. They're ready at the pharmacy." Temari announced, barging into the office. "Sakura!" she shrieked, tackling her to the floor in a hug.

Kankuro put a hand to his forehead. "Don't kill her Temari!"

Sakura giggled. "Hello!" She chirped.

"It's been too long! My, you've gotten bigger!" Temari nodded approvingly.

Sakura's face turned beet red and she pushed her off, covering her chest with her arms. "Temari! Not here!"

She laughed and held her hand out for Sakura to take. "Oh, you're so shy! We should go shopping. You need some new outfits, you're wearing she same thing you did as last year!"

"Not now… Naruto is in danger, and we need to get the herbs for my mom and hurry back." Sakura explained, an apologetic look on her face.

"What are you talking about?" She demanded. Sakura gave her a brief explanation. "Damn it." She turned to Gaara. "You know I'm going, right?"

He nodded. "I intend to as well."

"You can't count me out." Kankuro pointed out.

Sakura smiled gratefully.

"Come, Sakura, let's get your herbs and we can leave." Gaara said, and walked out of the room.

--

"Gaara! You are not leaving this village!"

He paid the Council member no mind as he strapped his gourd to his back. "I am. Konoha is threatened for attack, and my best friend needs me."

"Our village could be threatened as well! You can't just leave whenever you want!"

"I can do whatever I want. You denied Sakura the herbs needed to save her mothers life, which is unforgivable. You will not change my mind." He pushed past the old woman. "I have no tailed beast, what could they want with this village?" He put in quietly.

"What would your father say?" She hissed. "That Haruno's mother will die regardless, those herbs are meant for our people." Gaara stiffened, but didn't turn around. There wasn't much he could say.

Baki rounded the corner. "Gaara? What am I hearing? You're leaving?"

"Yes, and I need you to stay here and watch over the village."

Baki nodded. "Yes, Gaara." He smiled, "Look after that twerp."

A smirk threatened to show on Gaara's lips as he walked past. "I intend to."

Gaara hurried out of the building and took to the rooftops of his village, going to the gates where everyone was waiting.

Matsuri ran to meet him, and took his hand, kissing him lightly. Her face was beet red as she looked away. Gaara stared at her, surprised. She usually never showed affection in public. "Sakura wouldn't stop bugging me while we were waiting… she wanted proof…"

Sakura cheered. "I knew it!"

"Sakura, quit being annoying." Sasuke muttered, shaking his head.

"Let's go." Gaara announced, walking ahead of his siblings and Sakura and Sasuke with Matsuri at his side. He smiled at her secretly, away from watching eyes and started the pace, one he knew wouldn't tire her out.

* * *

If something doesn't make sense, let me know and I will fix it!

Hehe, GaaMatsu! I love them together, so cute! Anyways, I hope they were in character. I know Temari wasn't... but I wanted her to be like that, it's how I pictured her and Sakura's relationship.. And I attempted to put somoe humor in there... Anyways, let me know what you think?

AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! It may help me update faster!!!


	15. Chapter 15

**_Chapter 15!!_**

Smiling softly, Sakura watched as Gaara took hold of Matsuri's hand. He hardly showed emotion, and yet, ever since that time she was kidnapped, she knew she was perfect for him. She looked to her left at Temari. "When did this happen?" She asked, her face bright with curiosity.

"A little over a month ago." Temari nodded, looking to Kankuro for approval. He nodded as well. "She had been on a mission, and of course, with it being her first A rank with her team, they didn't get back without injuries."

Sakura nodded. "Ooh!" She said knowingly. "That's so sweet!" She dropped Sasuke's hand and looped her arm through Temari's, dragging her ahead of the two. "You must tell me everything!"

Laughing, Temari began. "Well, I was away on a mission as well, so I'm not certain of the details." Sakura nodded. "Well, I guess she was hurt pretty badly—"

"Did he take her in his arms and carry her to the hospital?" Sakura inquired.

"Well, yes, kind of." She admitted. "He was informed of the mission success and went to see her, that's when he saw her limping and supported by her teammates."

Sakura nodded. "How romantic…"

"Yeah. Well he made sure she didn't have to walk on her own for the duration of her injuries. He even stayed by her side while she went through treatment—a broken leg and a couple of lacerations." She laughed at the memory.

Sighing happily, she stared at Gaara's back. "How are his nightmares?" She asked.

"Great." Temari said, "Well, according to Matsuri. She says he's been sleeping great."

"That's a relief." Sakura nodded. She watched them for a while as they walked and looked next to her at Temari, to see her staring at her. "What?"

"Sakura… What happened to you?" She asked softly, concerned. "The messages we received by your Hokage were vague…"

"Yes, it was hectic when I got back…" She nodded. "Well… first off, you remember Sai?" Receiving a nod, Sakura continued. Giving Temari her the first hand experience. She told her every detail; Sasuke's teammates, his willingness to help her get back to Konoha, how he cared for her. "Right before we left for Suna… he kissed me."

"Oh, do tell!"

Sakura laughed and was about to tell her everything when Gaara stopped and turned. "We need to get going. There is not much wind, but if it gets bad I can shield us."

Temari sighed. "Yeah, ok."

Sasuke came to a stop beside Sakura and she smiled up at him. He looked down at her and smirked, taking her hand in his and nodding towards Gaara. He nodded in return and took the lead, running using his chakra for extra speed.

---

Thoughts clouding her mind, Ino didn't notice what was going on around her while she and her team sat in a restaurant for lunch. Sighing, she looked to her right, out the window.

"What's wrong Ino?" Chouji asked, his mouth full of barbecued pork.

"Nothing." She sighed, resting her head on Shikamaru's shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?" He inquired, turning the cooking pork with his chopsticks.

"Sakura. Her mom seems to be doing well one day, then is really sick the next. It's off and on. But now, she seems to be only worse."

"Her and Uchiha went to Suna four days ago Ino. They're getting the herbs." Shikamaru told her.

"When are they going to be back?" She asked.

"It depends on how fast they travel. If they go day and night it's two days at the least. And if they stop during the night, about three days." Shikamaru explained. "They'll probably be back tomorrow."

Nodding and smiling up at her partner, she sat up and took a couple pieces of pork from Chouji and scooped up some salad. They sat in content silence, as they always did when together as a team. She remembered the day Iruka has assigned the teams; she had been so angry.

But now, she wouldn't change a thing. Her life was perfect as it was. Smiling softly and taking a sip of her water when she finished her food, she sat back. She looked over her shoulder, however, when the door to the restaurant slammed open, and Lee looked around before his eyes settled on them.

"What is it, Lee?" Ino asked.

"Emergency! All ninja are to report to the top of the Hokage tower immediately!" He rehearsed and let took a deep breath.

Shikamaru stood immediately as did Chouji and Ino slid out of the booth after them.

---

"We'll be there in an hour." Sasuke told Sakura as they ran. They were all pretty tired, but adrenalin kept her going. "I'm sure Tsunade has gotten the message I sent, don't worry."

"What did you say?"

"Everything." He answered. "The bird should be there by now. Kankuro gave me the one that Gaara uses to send messages to Konoha."

"That's great." Sakura smiled and reached to her back pouch, making sure it was still there. The herbs were exactly what she needed. Temari picked her extras; enough to make two batches. "I wonder how mom is doing." She muttered. She knew that when she left, her mother was looking worn down. The only thing her and Tsunade could come up with was that the poison wasn't leaving her body fast enough. It could be acting like cancer; growing in a cell, killing it and spreading into another only to do the same thing.

Sakura's body was screaming in protest. She was not used to travelling this much and at this pace ever since she was brought back from her mission. Her body would never be the same after the continued use of the drug. Her lungs were healed but there was still scar tissue that hindered her breathing. Sure, her and Sasuke had traveled hard the way there, but they had rested multiple times more.

"You ok?" Sasuke asked her.

"Fine." She breathed. "Just out of breath." She smiled. "Gotta keep going for mom."

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke stopped, causing the others to as well. "We've been travelling for a long time, Sakura. You need to take a rest." He handed her his water which she took a drink from and handed it back forcefully.

"What's going on?" Temari asked, jumping down lower from the high branch she was on. "Sakura, you don't look so good."

"I'm fine." She hissed, glaring at Sasuke and taking deep breaths. "It's the drug they used on me. It left scar tissue and now I get out of breath easily. That's it. I'm not going to pass out or anything." She looked around at everyone. "I can't afford to sit around and take a break! My mom could be dying! Don't you get it?" She pushed past Sasuke. "Let's go."

Gaara didn't question her and leapt off without a word, leading the group again. He picked up the pace, Sakura following close behind. True to her reassurances, she didn't falter, and the gates of the village were in view.

As they walked through the gates, the watchmen intercepted them, eying them suspiciously. Izumo walked up to them and put his hands together in the sign of the tiger, releasing his chakra quickly. It Didn't affect them so he bowed. "Welcome Kazekage-sama." He turned to Sasuke. "Tsunade-sama received your warning and has taken suitable precautions. She waits for your arrival."

Sakura touched Sasuke's arm, taking deep breaths. "I'm going to see my mom." He nodded and watched her leave, running in the direction of the hospital. It was in the centre of the village, at equal distance from all entrances.

---

Machines beeped repetitively as Sakura barged through her mothers hospital room door. Ino sat next to the bedside, looking over her charts. "Ino…" Sakura whimpered quietly, tears building up at the site of her mother. She had a mask on to help her breathe, and a cloth over her eyes.

"She's ok, Sakura. You have the herbs needed? I was looking over your notes, and I think the antidote you came up with will work. I'll help you make it." She smiled and took Sakura's hand leading her out of the room, down the hall and up the elevator, to the research floor, where they would have all they needed to make the antidote.

"What happened?" Sakura asked quietly, gripping her shorts tightly.

"She began to have trouble breathing. I think the poison has progressed--affecting her lungs." She wrung her hands nervously, "I thought that it might attack her liver and kidneys as well, so I have been staying with her to make sure she is ok."

"Thank you, Ino." Sakura said, unclipping the buckle that held her pouch on her hips and dug through the baggies to check that all the herbs she needed were there. "This is the hundredth time I've checked…" She huffed nervously and shook her head. "Everything is set. They are fresh and ready to go." She muttered. She looked up at Ino and smiled. "Let's do this."

Ino smiled and waved the clipboard in front of her. "Got the formula right here."

They worked through the next hour and when the antidote was done settling for the minutes Sakura estimated, she rushed to her mothers' side. She allowed Ino to administer the drug through her mothers IV as her hands were shaking too much to be able to do it herself.

"There. Now, let's wait and see." Ino sighed and sat beside Sakura. "You know... Shikamaru and I are together now. Don't know if I told you that..."

Sakura smiled. "No, you didn't. That's great Ino. You know, he's had his eyes on you for quite a while." She laughed lightly.

"Really? Hm." She laughed then and pushed Sakura lightly on the shoulder. "What happened though with you and Sasuke? I heard you ran into his brother? Something about Naruto? I don't know much cause I had to leave the briefing--your mom..."

Sakura understood. "Well, basically, we don't know if it is a trap to gather all valuable shinobi or if Itachi is really just trying to help Sasuke... He showed us everything--what the council and the third hokage said, Uchiha Madara... It was awful... when I seen the night Sasuke's family died, I mean, the look on Sasuke's face..." She shook her head. "It is hard to believe he could be lying with what I seen... He even used me to make Sasuke listen to him." She tubed her thigh and smiled. "He used a drug to enhance pain--probably just an irritant in open wounds..."

Ino raised her brows. "In front of Sasuke--must have been desperate to get him to listen."

Sakura nodded and shifted her chair closer to her mothers' bed so she could take her hand. "He..." She paused and laughed bitterly, "He wasn't rough. Actually, for a man who killed his family he was pretty gentle. A prodigy like Itachi could have hit me anywhere with the kunai, but it hit me in the leg. And then he gave Sasuke the actual antidote."

Ino nodded. "It is promising. I can't imagine how Sasuke must be feeling even now." She stood and stretched her back. "I would love to stay with you, Sakura, but Tsunade will want to hear about her condition and quite frankly, I would like to know what is going on."

"Sure, thank you for everything Ino..."

"No need to thank me. If I see Sasuke I'll tell him to come by."

Sighing, Sakura stood from her cramped position and turned to the monitors with her mothers' vitals. They were still as they were when they administered the antidote--stable. She turned away and looked around the room. She had been moved again, instead to a more comfortable room. There was a couch on the opposite wall to the bed her mother lay and a small sink across from the foot of the bed.

"Come on... please work." She muttered and placed a hand on her mother's forehead. The fever had gone down, almost completely gone. She sighed again, and ran her fingers through her windblown hair, pulling out her hitai-ate as she did so, placing it on the table next to the vase of flowers next to the bed. The fast journey back to Konoha was long, and being in the quiet dim room was not helping. Her eye lids were heavy and the couch was looking very warm and comfortable.

She gave her mother a last kiss on the forehead, turned up the volume on the monitor, checked her IV and breathing mask, and kicked of her boots, making her way to the couch. The room was a little cool, but she was too tired to care.

---

Gaara and Sasuke stood in the front of the small group of shinobi gathered in Tsunade's office. Tsunade re-read the letter Sasuke wrote to her out loud, verifying everything he said. He added what Itachi did to get his attention and gave her the needle the antidote was in.

The Hokage sat in thought, staring at the needle and the letter. Minutes passed before she looked to her left at Shizune. "Get Kakashi and the two of you figure out the meaning behind all that Itachi showed Sasuke and Sakura. Get back to me as soon as you find something."

Shizune left with a light bow to her master and Gaara.

Tsunade folded her fingers together and leaned her chin on them in thought, closing her eyes. "Kotetsu!" She called harshly. The shinobi appeared at her side.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"Get Neji, Tenten, Lee, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata here at once. Tell Kiba to bring Hana Inuzuka and her team with him." He left the same way he appeared and she then focussed on Sasuke. "Those are going to be teams of three to track where Itachi went for one, and the other two to search and locate the Akatsuki." Her eyes narrowed. "Anyone else I should consider?"

"You're asking me?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes." She nodded.

He paused, and thought for a moment. "The two byakugan users should be searching for the Akatsuki. Send the Inuzuka and her dogs after Itachi. I will go with her."

She shook her head. "No. You will stay here. If Itachi is really trying to help us and Naruto, then she should not be harmed. Hana and her dogs are more than capable of handling themselves."

"I will stay with Naruto, Hokage-sama." Gaara intervened. "I will inform him of the events that have transpired. I will take my ninja with me."

A knock a the door interrupted them. "Tsunade-sama? It's Ino."

"Come in." She called. "This will take a moment."

"Ami Haruno has taken well to the antidote. Everything Sakura had conjured up for the antidote and the making of the antidote went smoothly."

"How is she?"

"Sakura or Ms Haruno?" Ino asked.

"Well, both." She admitted.

"Ms Haruno is still classified as needing intensive care and Sakura... well, she is physically and mentally exhausted. I wouldn't be surprised if she was already sleeping."

Tsunade nodded. "Alright. I will send someone to check on Sakura." She leant back in her chair and looked at Sasuke. "We are pretty much done here, Uchiha, I will call for you when I need you." He nodded and left the room quickly. Tsunade turned to Gaara. "Naruto should be on his way here. He has been hanging around Hinata and when she is told to come he will follow."

A smirk grazed his lips. "That is like him."

**Um, Hi! Soooorry for the wait. I hope you enjoyed it.  
**


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